The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
by BTM707
Summary: Tetra has been kidnapped, and it's up to Link to save her. But this time, the REAL story will be told. Read as Link stumbles through his quest to free Tetra, and save the Great Sea from a terrible evil... *under revision*
1. The Ghost Ship

_Hey everybody! This my first ever fanfic, so I'm really excited! Review, please! Let me know what you think of it so far, and what I can improve on! No flaming please! Constructive critism is appreciated, but don't flame. It's my first fic, as I said before, so go easy on me! _

_So, without further ado, here it is!_

_(Post-completion notes: Now that the story is finished, the earlier chapters will be revised so they match the level of writing found in the later ones. From this point on, any chapter marked 'Completion Revision' has been edited since its original release. Content will not be changed; grammar and spelling will simply be fixed.)_

_*Completion Revision*_

**~ The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass ~**

_**Chapter 1: The Ghost Ship**_

"Once, not so long ago, there was a group of brave pirates, led by a beautiful and salty captain. One day, these handsome pirates stopped on an island and met a boy. This boy had a sister who had been kidnapped by a giant bird. The brave pirates and the boy sailed to where the sister was being kept and freed her. Then, the boy and the captain got caught up in an adventure involving an ancient kingdom. During the adventure, the captain was revealed to be the princess of said ancient kingdom. She was then kidnapped by an evil man, who was a fat ginger. The boy found where the evil man had waited for him and they fought, long and hard, until eventually the boy won with the help of the captain/princess. The boy and the captain then set sail with the awesomely gorgeous pirates, looking for a piece of land or something. For some weird reason that the captain never stated what exactly they were doing, so her crew could only guess and question her sanity. Not long after-"

"NIKO! Why are you slacking off?" yelled an angry voice.

"Uh-oh," the pirate, whose name happened to be Niko, said in a small voice, seeing that he'd been caught.

A girl stormed over to the prow of the ship, where Niko sat with a bunch of picture cards. She was about twelve years old, with tanned skin, blonde hair kept in a swirly bun, and blue eyes. And right now, she wore an angry expression. This girl, who happened to be the captain from the story, was named Tetra.

"I w-was just retelling o-our adventures, Miss Tetra, and making picture cards to go along with it," Niko whimpered.

"Retelling our adventures to who? You're the only one over here!" Tetra replied angrily, though looking a tad puzzled.

"To m-myself," Niko answered, shaking.

"…You were retelling our adventures… to yourself," Tetra said slowly as the pirate nodded nervously.

"In case anybody overheard and wanted to know of... our..." Niko trailed off, waiting for the inevitable explosion.

"GET UP AND GET WORKING! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING FOR THE GHOST SHIP! IF WE'VE MISSED IT, YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!" Tetra shouted at the top of her voice. Niko jumped up quickly and ran off to the crow's nest. Tetra watched him go, thinking about what they would do when they found the Ghost Ship.

Tetra and her crew had been looking for a ship that was sailing these waters. Rumour was that there was a mysterious boat that was out and about, striking fear into any sailor that stumbled across it. It was a ship that was said to be cursed and that it could even, it was whispered, steal your very soul. People reported that their friends had gone missing while in the general area of where it could be located, and much of the Great Sea was now fearing sailing at all.

Tetra thought it was a load of crap.

In her opinion, it was just a bunch of lousy pirates who were causing mischief and pillaging other ships' treasure. The whole 'cursed' thing was probably just a hoax to scare others and to build up a reputation. Well, Tetra wouldn't stand for it. She was going to teach them that pirates have rules too, and she was going to teach them _good_. As well, they had no doubt collected a lot of treasure with all their pillaging. Tetra would probably take all of that too, seeing as she _was_ a greedy pirate. _All that gold and rupees, and shiny gold, and some rare artifacts- hell, there might even be gold on that ship!_ Tetra had a particular fondness for gold.

"Hey Tetra! Any sign of that Ghost Ship?" called a voice. A boy Tetra's age walked onto the deck, stretching his arms until the joints popped. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, wore a green tunic with a matching hat, white tights, and brown boots that were ridiculously small compared to the rest of his body, particularly his head. He is also the boy from the story, if you haven't figured it out yet. Oh, and since it might be important, his name's Link.

"Tetra?" Link asked again as he approached her. He saw she had a glazed look in her eyes while standing perfectly still, and was drooling a bit.

"Oh great," Link muttered, shaking his head. "She's thinking about gold again. Man, she needs to stop spacing out when she does that! It's really starting to get annoying. I mean, it's just gold! She doesn't need to ignore everyone, that's just rude. And then to drool and everything too, it's disgusting! …I should really stop talking to myself. Everyone thinks it's creepy."

After Link was finished his schizo self-conversation, he proceeded to snap Tetra out of her trance, which was done by shouting 'TETRA!' in her ear as loud as he could until she came around.

"OW! WHAT?" Tetra finally yelled after her name was screamed for the seventh time.

"You were thinking about gold again," Link stated, looking at her with an annoyed expression. Tetra smiled dreamily.

"Yeah, I was thinking about how much treasure must be on the Ghost Ship! How much do you think there is? Lots?" Tetra asked him excitedly.

"I don't particularly care, to be honest," Link replied. "As long as something stupid doesn't happen and one of us disappears into a life-endangering situation, I'm satisfied."

Tetra snorted. "Come on Link, you know those haven't happened since we defeated Ganondorf and left his stoned ass at the bottom of the sea with the remains of my kingdom that your king-boat neglected to treat properly and was forced to drown when the King of Evil attempted to take it over. You know, another routine day."

"I'm just saying, it wouldn't surprise me. I saw a lot of unpredictable things on my journey, so stuff randomly happening again would be nothing new. I just wish you'd let me keep my items and not lock them away in your cabinet."

"You don't need them anymore, and I'm not having you charge around the ship with arrows and bombs. You'll end up shooting one of the crew or blowing a hole in my boat. And I swear to Din, if you do I'm beating you to death with your little red boat that's sitting in the cargo hold."

"What if I need them in a pinch? I'm going to fight with a stupid lock while everyone else may be getting killed?"

"There's a sword and shield by your cot, that's all you ever need. I think you'll live if we get attacked," the captain argued sternly.

"C'mon, at least let me keep my Wind Waker on me, please? The King even said that I was chosen by the Gods to use it! That's why I'm the bloody Hero of Winds!" the boy whined.

"Let you keep a wand-baton that lets you manipulate the elements and the very fabric of time and space itself? Let _you_ keep it. Do you see where my concerns stem from?"

"Better me than Mako! He's tried three times to break into the cabinet to get it! Says he wants to act out his book so he can feel closer to Harry. Or something like that."

"No, Link," the captain said with an impatient sigh. Link crossed his arms and frowned.

"Some princess you are, _Zelda_." The girl's eye twitched in annoyance.

"I've told you all already: do NOT call me Zelda! I am not some stupid, prissy princess; I'm Captain Tetra, the fiercest pirate on the Great Sea! That's why I burned that stupid dress as soon as we got back from Hyrule!"

"Really? Because it seems that lately, we've done very little pirating. No murders, no stealing, we haven't so much as scared someone! In fact, have you _ever_ killed anyone while being a pirate? Has anyone on this ship?"

"No. But only because we've never had to! We're respectable pirates. I'm not a psycho," Tetra argued.

"Yeah, you're just a meanie. Oh, you have a big pile of drool at your feet."

"Huh? Ew!" Tetra exclaimed, looking down at her feet and seeing the rather large puddle she was standing in. "I've got to stop drooling when I do that."

"Ya think? Hell, just stop doing that spacing thing, problem solved. Now shouldn't you maybe clean it up? It looks gross, and someone may slip on it," Link commented, glancing down at it again.

"I'm not cleaning it up!" replied Tetra. "I'm the captain of this ship, damn it, so someone else can clean it up."

"MISS TETRA, MISS TE-AAAAAHHHHH!" came a voice from above. Link and Tetra looked up to see Niko falling to the deck. He landed with a loud 'thud'.

"…Ow," Niko said finally as he slowly stood up.

"There is a ladder, you know," Tetra told him as he dusted himself off. "That's how Zuko gets up there. You never see him fall from the crow's nest, do you?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I totally knew that! Yep, always knew about it! Uh-huh. Knew there was a ladder," Niko said quickly, looking foolish.

"Dumbass…" Link said under his breath so that only Tetra could hear as he looked away. The captain let the shadow of a smile flicker onto her lips, but kept her attention on Niko.

"So what do you want, Niko? Piss off Zuko again? You know he likes to be the only one up there. Y'know, because he rarely talks and likes his peace? And you never shut up?" Tetra asked him.

"No, Miss Tetra! Well, maybe, but I think I slipped before he could push me off. Anyway, we've sighted the Ghost Ship!" Niko said excitedly, like a little schoolgirl.

"The Ghost Ship? ALL HANDS ON DECK!" Tetra shouted. Within seconds, the entire crew was on the deck, looking over the side at something in the distance.

In the midst of an unusual fog there was a large ship, brown and grey in colour, with black sails. Said sails were tattered and torn and there was a huge skull on the mast. There were two lanterns shaped like eyeballs hanging off the prow of the ship; the light from the lanterns shone forward brightly, so it appeared as if the ship had headlights. It was also weird that you could see the lights at all, seeing as it was midday. Ah well, it was probably to make it appear more spooky… or something.

"Woah, it looks spooky up close," Niko commented.

"Well duh, it's the GHOST Ship, it's supposed to be scary," Tetra said, looking at the ship and trying to judge it.

"So… what do we do now? I mean that _is_ the Ghost Ship, right?" a glasses-wearing pirate named Mako asked. Tetra slapped him.

"Yes, stupid! What have we been talking about for the last five minutes?" Tetra yelled at him.

"I dunno, I wasn't paying attention. I was too busy reading '_Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_'", Mako told her, showing her the book in his hands. Tetra took it and threw it over the side.

"MY BOOK! NOOOOOOO!" Mako screamed, falling to the deck and sobbing.

Tetra stared at him for a minute, then turned back to her crew. "So anyways, back to the Ghost Ship-"

"I say we bomb the crap out of 'em!" a large pirate called Senza shouted excitedly.

"No, we should board 'em and slice 'em all up like pigs!" another large pirate named Nudge proposed, drawing his sword.

"We should bomb 'em! Sinking is more fun!" Senza shouted louder.

"No, slicing 'em up is gory! We're pirates, we're supposed to kill people!" Nudge screamed louder.

"You're wrong! Bomb!"

"_You're _wrong! Slice!"

"BOMB!"

"SLICE!"

"BOMB!"

"SLICE!"

Senza and Nudge grabbed each other and began fighting. Gonzo, being the only one as big as the other two, ran forward and pulled them apart.

"Miss Tetra's the captain, morons! She'll decide what we do!" Gonzo yelled at them both.

"Thank you, Gonzo," said Tetra.

"Suck-up," Zuko muttered quietly.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Gonzo screamed, turning to Zuko and raising a fist.

"GONZO! You don't have to react to every insult thrown at you!" Tetra scolded. "Just ignore it!"

Gonzo shot Zuko a dirty look, then turned away to face Tetra once again.

"Wait, did Zuko just talk?" Link asked in amazement. Everyone ignored him.

"Okay, here's what's going to happen," Tetra told them. "We'll get up beside them, and I'll get on the ship and try and find the pirates. When I do, I'll let you know, and you come aboard and tie them up. Though one of you will have to stay behind to watch the ship. Probably Mako, because he's such a pathetic baby." Tetra looked at Mako, who was still lying on the floor of the deck, rolling back and forth while sobbing uncontrollably. "Then, when that's done, we take their treasure and get outta here! Everyone understand?"

"AYE!" came the reply from the pirates.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever," Link said with a wave of his hand, playing with a spider that was swimming in Tetra's drool-puddle.

"Alright! Gonzo! Pull up beside them!" Tetra commanded. Gonzo nodded and ran to the wheel. He directed the boat at the Ghost Ship, and within moments the ships were side by side. Studying the weird fog that appeared to follow the Ghost Ship, Tetra quickly dismissed it and walked over to the deck's edge before she turned towards her crew.

"Okay, I'm gonna go over now, so be ready to- LINK! STOP PLAYING WITH THAT DAMN SPIDER!"

"But he's fun," Link whined, looking at Tetra. The captain narrowed her eyes darkly.

"Link, if you don't get up in three seconds, I'm swear I'm going to-"

"Alright, alright," Link said hastily, standing up and glaring at Tetra. "Fun-sucker. You don't let me enjoy anything on this boat."

"You know it," Tetra smirked, then jumped onto the railing. "Alright, be right back."

And with that, she jumped onto the deck of the Ghost Ship.


	2. Mercay Island and Ciela

_*Completion Revision*_

_**Chapter 2: Mercay Island and Ciela**_

Link and the crew watched Tetra walk across the deck of the Ghost Ship. She reached a door that led below deck and disappeared from sight. As soon as she had, Link sighed in relief and wandered back over to his friend in the puddle.

A couple of minutes passed by in silence, when suddenly Gonzo said, "Something's wrong." Link rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on," the boy said. "She just got on, like, two minutes ago! Give her a bit of time, Gonzo! That's a big ship, so it'll probably take some time to search it all. I mean, the pirates could be hiding-"

All of the sudden, the Ghost Ship started to move. The crew watched in horror as the boat's sails filled with wind and began carrying it away. The Ghost Ship was leaving them with no crew to be seen as the fog around it began to thicken. And Tetra was still onboard.

"…Huh. Something _may_ be wrong," Link commented idly as he watched the ship move. His brain finally registered a stunning realization. "Wait a minute, Tetra's still over there!"

The crew looked at him flatly. "Whoa, really?" Nudge said sarcastically. "Tetra's still over there! And that might be a problem? Who would have guessed!"

"No need to be snide," Link countered, still watching the ship continue to sail away. The crew began to shake impatiently as they watched their captain's best friend turn back to the spider.

"Don't you think you should, I don't know, GO AND RESCUE HER?" screamed Senza finally.

"How come I have to? Why can't buck-tooth do it?" Link protested as he pointed to Niko. The pirate's eyes began to water.

"Damn it, stop making fun of my buck-toothness!" Niko cried, covering his hand over his mouth and hiding behind Nudge.

"Link, go get Tetra. NOW!" Gonzo ordered.

"Why should I? She's a captain, she made that clear enough. I'm sure she can handle whatever's happening."

"You're the Hero of Winds, something YOU'VE made clear enough. Does that not entitle you to help out those in distress?" Gonzo argued.

"We don't _know_ that she's in distress, you guys are just paranoid. 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'; she'll kick the ass of anyone over there."

"Just go make sure she doesn't need help then!" Gonzo said, gritting his teeth in frustration.

Link frowned. "I don't think so, she was mean to me. She locks up my stuff and doesn't let me play with a spider."

"Last chance, Link."

"Make me," said Link, crossing his arms.

Gonzo simply shrugged and walked over to the hero. The big man picked him up and threw him at the Ghost Ship, which was_ still_ crawling away from the pirate ship.

"Wow, good throw," Zuko commented quietly as the boy quickly sailed through the air. Gonzo grinned at the compliment. "Thanks. I practice with Niko, it's our 'bonding time'."

"AAAHHHH! DAMN IT GONZO!" screamed Link as he shot forward, flying through the air that whipped at his face. "ALL OF YOU CAN JUST GO TO- Oof!"

Link hit the hull of the Ghost Ship, and frantically tried to grab the railing. But he was dizzy from just being launched through the air at 85 km/h, and he lost his grip and fell screaming into the ocean below.

* * *

_Darkness… Purple clouds… A small white light in the centre of it all…_

_Oh Goddesses, I'm dead! _Link thought. Just then, a silhouetted figure appeared in the centre of the light. His eyes eventually adjusted and he saw that it was none other than Tetra.

"Oh, Tetra! We were wondering where you went," Link called out. Tetra didn't reply. It was as if she didn't know he was there.

"Link…" She called as she stared blankly ahead. "Save me…"

"Save you? What?" Link asked. "How? Where are you? Are you alright?"

"Save me… Link…" she said again.

"Well, I'm trying," Link said, beginnning to grow angry. "But you're not telling me anything! Stop ignoring me! Why do you always do that?"

"Save me… Save me…" Tetra said, fading away.

"HOW? DAMN IT TETRA, JUST TELL ME HOW!" Link screamed crossly. But Tetra was gone, purple smoke quickly covering the light. Soon everything disappeared as the darkness began to fade…

* * *

Bright light shone on his eyelids. The sound of water lapping against the shore reached his ears. He felt sand beneath him and guessed that he was lying on a beach. He opened his eyes and flinched at the sun. All he saw was a blue sky and the tips of palm trees. And a round thing with wings was overhead, throwing rocks at him.

"Hey! Wake up! Listen!" the thing called, throwing another rock at his head. Link slowly opened his eyes as he felt something strike his skull.

"Ow… my head," Link muttered, sitting up and holding his temple. He looked up to see a glowing ball floating above his head and paled.

"WAH! FLYING MEATBALL!" Link screamed, scooting backwards.

"Meatball?" the thing said in mid-throw. "I look nothing like a meatball!"

"Well, you're round and glowy," said Link, standing up. "That's close enough, really."

"Yeah well, you wear a dress, you crossdressing freak. And meatballs shouldn't ever glow. Ever," the thing replied.

"It's called a tunic, you flying weirdo. It's not my first choice of fashion, but it's comfy," Link said, looking around. "Ugh, my head hurts. I must have whacked it pretty hard when I hit that ship."

"Uh, yeah. The ship. Right," the thing said, throwing its pile of rocks away when Link wasn't looking.

"So, what exactly are you?" Link asked the being who was hovering in front of him.

"I'm a fairy, and my name's Ciela," the fairy said. "What's your name?"

"Link," the boy said slowly. He then puffed out his chest. "Also known as the Hero of Winds, or the Waker of the Winds. But you'll know all about that," he quickly added as he ran his fingers through his hair arrogantly.

"Mmm… no," said Ciela.

"What? You've _never_ heard of me?" Link asked, looking bewildered. "How I fought the King of Evil, rescued the Great Sea, etc. etc.?"

"Nope," replied Ciela. "This is the first time I've seen you, laying on the beach unconscious and muttering."

"Muttering?" Link asked, eyes widening. "What did I say?"

"Just one word, over and over," Ciela said. "'Tetra'."

"Oh," Link said, breathing a sigh of relief. "That's good. I thought I might have said some embarrassing secret or something. Hang on, when I was unconcious I felt something odd. What all were you yelling at me?"

"Not too much. 'Hey' and 'Listen', mostly. Occasionally 'Wake Up', but more the former two. Why?"

"I'm not sure," Link replied as he tried to remember the feeling. "It just felt... familiar somehow. Like, in a previous life, I was rolling in my grave or something... Well, it's probably nothing."

"So who's Tetra, anyway?" asked the fairy curiously, fluttering around.

"Hmm? Oh, just a friend of mine who apparently got kidnapped," answered Link as he walked around on the beach. Ciela frowned.

Shouldn't you, maybe, rescue her or something?" the fairy asked, flying beside him.

"Yeah, but I have to find her first," Link replied. "Who knows where that stupid Ghost Ship is right now? Or where I even am?"

"The _Ghost Ship_?" Ciela exclaimed loudly, flying in front of his face. "Then this is an emergency! Come on, Link, we're going to see Grandpa!"

"Grandpa?" Link asked. "My Grandpa?"

"What? No!"

"Oh, ok. I don't even know if I have a Grandpa…" Link said, lost in thought as he tried to remember if he'd ever met his grandfather. He couldn't, but then again he couldn't remember ever meeting his parents either. Geez, his life sort of sucked.

"Um, yeah. Okay then," Ciela said, staring at him. "Let's go see Grandpa."

"Your Grandpa? I didn't know flying fairy dudes had Grandpas," Link commented.

"Well, he's not technically- wait, 'dude'? I'm a GIRL, retard!" yelled Ciela.

"Yeah right. You can't be a girl; you're just a ball with wings!" Link replied, looking at Ciela.

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I DON'T HAVE A BODY, YOU ASS! I JUST GLOW SO BRIGHTLY THAT YOU CAN'T SEE IT!" Ciela yelled at him, panting after finishing her mini-rant.

"…Okay, fine, I get it," Link finally answered. "So, who's this Grandpa?"

"Well, I woke-" Ciela started, but was cut off by Link.

"This is going to be some long-winded explanation, isn't it?" Link asked.

"Yes, it is, so shut up," Ciela told him. "Anyway, I woke up on this island one day, kind of like you, except with no memory of who I was or how I got here. I wandered around this island for days before finally succumbing to my hunger and collapsing. It was then that an old man found me and took me to his house. There he took care of me as he nursed me back to health. I called him Grandpa, and I've lived with him ever since."

"This island doesn't even look that big," Link mused, glancing around. Pointing to a house a short ways away, he added, "I mean hell, there's a house right there!"

"Okay, shut up! When you're as small as me, the beach here seems a lot bigger!"

"You wandered in circles on a beach for days before collapsing in hunger?" Link asked, amused. "That's sort of sad."

"Look, I didn't have any memories. My head was sort of scrambled, I wasn't thinking properly at the time," the fairy explained.

"Ah," Link said. "Okay, so why are we going to see him?"

"Because," answered Ciela, "Grandpa knows all about the Ghost Ship! I'm positive he'll know something about what happened to your friend."

"...Okay then," said Link finally. "Let's go see him."

With Ciela leading the way, they ran up the beach to a path in the grass. Off of it was a small house on a ledge. It oddly had no door, and Ciela flew inside, while Link followed slowly to see if the missing door was nearby somwhere.

The house was rather empty, with just a few shelves and pots. Standing near a wall was an old man, with grayish-white hair, a beard covering his mouth, and thick eyebrows covering his eyes. He wore a green-yellow shirt with a long, cyan, sleeveless vest over it. He also wore black pants, sandals, and held a red staff with a conch on the end.

"Grandpa! Look who I found on the beach! He was unconscious, and had been washed ashore! And he says his friend has been kidnapped by the Ghost Ship!" Ciela said excitedly to the man.

"You don't say..." the old man replied, looking at Link. "I am sorry to hear that, young one. My name is Oshus. I live here on Mercay Island with Ciela. Ever since she lost her memory, I've been taking care of her. What might your name be?"

"I'm Link, the Hero of Winds that no one has apparently heard of. Ciela said you have some info on the Ghost Ship?" Link asked.

"That I do," Oshus answered. "But if you want to find the Ghost Ship, you are going to need a boat yourself."

"Alright," said Link. "Are there any boats for sale or rent on this island?"

"Nope."

"Well crap," Link answered as he kicked the floor with his heel. "Then how am I supposed to find the Ghost Ship?"

"About an hour ago, a man came into town to talk to me. He owned a ship, and may well be the only person around here who does," Oshus told him. "Why don't you try finding him?"

"Wait Grandpa," Ciela said hesitantly. "You don't mean that sneaky Linebeck guy, do you?"

"I'm afraid I do," Oshus replied. "He was here earlier asking about the Ghost Ship as well. He then ran off, saying something about the Temple of the Ocean King."

"Wuzzat?" Link asked, blinking stupidly.

"You really aren't from around here, are you? The Ocean King is said to be the ruler and protector of the sea. A temple was built on the north side of the island to honour him. But lately it has become cursed, and can suck the life right out of you," Oshus explained.

"Man, what's with everything sucking the life out of people?" Link wondered quietly to himself. It seemed like a cheap, recycled gimmick to him.

"Anyways, head into town on the east side of the island. Linebeck might be there," Oshus told Link. "Ciela, you go with Link. He may need your help."

_How the hell is a fairy supposed to help me? I bet no other past hero ever had a fairy to help him,_ Link thought to himself. But Ciela agreed, and they were being pushed out of the doorless house before he could object.

"So how do we get to town?" Link asked the fairy. _Might as well use her if I'm going to be stuck with her for a while._

"There's a bridge over this way," said Ciela, directing to the east. "It'll only take a few seconds to get to-"

Ciela was suddenly cut off as the ground began to shake. Everything rumbled for a moment, before a loud 'crash' was heard in the direction of their path.

"Oh no!" Ciela cried. "Another earthquake! And look, Link! It knocked out the bridge!"

Ciela's words were true. Up ahead, a bridge lay in pieces in a river that flowed off a waterfall beside it. The gap wasn't very wide, but it seemed too far to jump, and the river was moving quick enough to carry him out to the sea if he fell in.

"Well that's just super. How are we supposed to get into town now?" Link asked, frustrated.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking…" Ciela muttered. Then she cried, "What, that's it! I've got an idea!"


	3. The Mountain Passage

_Hey guys, Happy Thanksgiving! Sorry this one's a bit short, it's basically just moving the story along. Same goes for the next chapter as well. After they start their adventure, things'll start to pick up a bit. Anyways, enjoy!_

_*Completion Revision*_

_**Chapter 3: The Mountain Passage**_

"Alright, what's your idea?" Link asked, turning to face Ciela.

"There's another path that leads around the island. We can use it to get to town!" Ciela said. Link nodded in understanding.

"Okay then, let's go."

"We can't," the fairy replied.

"Why not?" Link asked, growing frustrated again.

"There are monsters and trees blocking the way. We can't just waltz in there," Ciela explained. Link pondered this for a moment before snapping his fingers.

"Sounds like I need a sword, then," he said. "What are the odds Oshus has one?"

"Actually, he does!" Ciela replied excitedly. "He keeps it in his storage cave next to his house!"

"Wait, storage cave? What is that?"

"...It's a cave that Grandpa uses to store the stuff he doesn't want in his house? What else would it be?"

"Okay, just making sure that it _wasn't_ something else," Link said, raising his hands defensively. "Well, let's go and ask him if we can borrow it."

"Nah, he'll just say it's too dangerous for you to use," Ciela replied. "'Children should not wield weapons of war' or something like that."

"Oh please! I used a sword in my last adventure, and I only hurt myself twice! And _one_ of those was when I was learning to use it! I know how to use one," replied Link.

"Wait a minute, what was that other time?" Ciela asked curiously.

"Oh, the other time. I was running, it slipped out of my hand, landed on the hilt as I ran into it, impaled myself through the chest." The hero shrugged. "Nothing a potion couldn't fix though."

Ciela stared at him with her mouth hanging open. "You _impaled_ yourself?"

"Not on purpose, geez," Link replied, rolling his eyes. "Accidents happen every day. No big deal."

"When did that happen?" the fairy asked, still horrified. Link shrugged.

"I dunno, about four steps out my Grandmother's door. Something like that."

"So... Right after you got it?"

"Couple minutes after, yeah."

"But you don't count that as 'learning how to use it'."

Link shook his head. "The tutorial was done. Ergo, I was done learning."

"Tutori-? Y'know what, never mind. Let's just go and borrow it," Ciela decided. "Besides, it's not like he_ has_ to know."

They walked back to the house, and Link now noticed that to the right of it was a cave. As they went inside, Link noticed a stone door blocking the way to the room beyond, with a sign next to it.

As they approached the sign, they saw it had words on it ("Holy Din! This sign has something written on it!" "Yeah dumbass, they're called words."). It read, 'To unlock this door, write the number of palm trees on the beach in the space.' Below the words was a blank space.

"…_This_ is his lock system?" Link finally said, staring at the door. "He's senile, isn't he? I mean any idiot could figure this out!"

"Well, let's go count 'em, then," said Ciela fluttering toward the entrance.

"Pfft, screw that! Do I _look_ like I care that badly? I'll just skip around the storyline until I the answer!" Link said, pulling a copy of the storyline out of his tunic.

"Where did you just pull that out of?" Ciela asked, confused.

"From my Infinite Pocket. All heroes have them," Link replied casually.

"Okay, lemme try that again: where did you get it?"

"Oh, originally? Uh…" Link stopped and tried to rack his memory for the origin of the papers in his hand. "Y'know, I don't remember. Probably not important."

Ciela said nothing as he flipped through the pages. "Let's see…" Link muttered, skimming over the text. "Tetra goes over to the Ghost Ship… I can't hang on to railing… Wake up on beach… Meet flying meatball…"

"Hey!" Ciela exclaimed. Link ignored her.

"Meet old man… Bridge collapses… AHA! 'Write the number 7 on the sign in the storage cave'! Wow, how 'bout that: it IS called a storage cave," Link said, putting the storyline away. He went up to the sign and traced the number 7 with his finger on the blank spot. Nothing happened, so he picked up a rock and savagely cut a '7' into the signpost. The door retracted into the ground as the sign fell apart.

"Alright!" Link said, walking through the doorway. Sitting on a platform was a chest, and Link walked over and opened it. A sword lay inside, sheathed in a plain brown scabbard.

"Nice, I got a sword," said Link, strapping the scabbard across his back. "I mean, it's not _my_ sword, but I guess it'll do. Let's go to town!"

Link and Ciela left the cave, only to stop immediately outside. Waiting there, his foot tapping angrily, was Oshus.

"Aww, I always hate it when this happens," Link muttered, walking slowly over to where the old man stood.

"That sword is too dangerous for a child to use," Oshus told him sternly when they reached him.

"Yep, called it," Ciela said, looking at Link.

"Look Osh, I've used swords before. I know how to use them," Link told him. Oshus raised a brow.

"You've handled a sword before?" he asked skeptically. Link answered by drawing the weapon and giving a brief performance with it. He ended by tossing it into the air and catching it behind his back.

"Hmm, I see. Well… alright. But be careful," Oshus said, turning to go back into his house. "And don't call me Osh!" he called over his shoulder.

Link and Ciela walked over to the left side of the house to a path that led north. Link sheathed his sword and pulled out a bandage from his pocket.

Ciela noticed and asked, "What's that for?"

Link kept his hand behind his back as he answered, "Well… I may have impaled the sword through my hand when I 'caught' it. I figure I should probably wrap up the wound so it stops bleeding so much."

Ciela simply facepalmed and said nothing. As they followed the path, red jelly-like things with big yellow eyes, called Chuchus, popped out of the ground. After laughing hysterically for a couple of minutes at their appearance, Link cut and stabbed until they were all dead. After walking for a bit more, they came across some thin trees blocking the path. They were promptly cut down, revealing a cave that Link and Ciela walked straight into.

Inside was a door that was locked. "Great," Link muttered. "Stuck already. Ciela, what do we do?"

"Try looking past the door," Ciela replied.

Link looked. Past the door was a chest on a ledge. "Oh yeah. I knew that," Link said, rubbing the back of head foolishly. Ciela rolled her eyes.

Link ran forward to the chest, but four Chuchus popped out of the ground. Link proceeded to kill them all, then went up the ledge to the chest and pulled out a key.

"Wow, that's real clever," Link commented, rolling his own eyes. "A key in a chest FOUR FEET FROM THE FREAKIN' DOOR!"

Link went back to the door and unlocked it. Beyond that was a large room with four levers on the wall, with a locked door in between the two middle ones. Cube blocks were on the left and right sides of the room.

"So now what do we do?" Link asked.

I dunno," Ciela replied. She then noticed a tablet to the right of the levers. "Go read that!"

Link walked over to the tablet. "'Pull the four levers in the correct order. Or else the roof collapses on you,'" he read aloud. "How the hell are we supposed to know the right order?"

"Try pushing that block," Ciela said, indicating to the left one. Link went over to it, but more Chuchus came out of the ground.

"What is with all these stupid-looking things?" Link asked as he killed them.

"Beats me," replied Ciela.

After he was done, he went to the block and pushed against it. It moved forward, and Link kept pushing until he could enter the room. There were a few bats, called Keese, flying around, and Link immediately went after them. After they were dead, Link noticed another tablet. He walked over to it and read it aloud. "'When pulling the levers: First: 2nd from the left.' Alright, that's easy enough," Link said. He went back to the main room and pulled the left lever closest to the door. He then went over to the other block and pushed it out of the way. More Keese flew in this room, so Link killed them before going to the tablet. "'When pulling the four levers: Second: 1st on the left. Last: Second from the right.' Nice! That's all I need to know!"

He ran back to the main chamber and pulled the lever on the far left. Then, the one on the far right, and finally, the right one closest to the door. A key fell into the middle of the room.

"Done yet?" Ciela called from across the room.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Link called back as he unlocked the door. It swung open and revealed stairs. Link and Ciela ran up.

At the top was a path that forked. To the right was another locked door which Link groaned upon seeing, and to the left were several mice in a room. As Link stared, he saw that one of them had a key in its mouth.

"AHA!" Link shouted, lunging for the mouse. It quickly ran into a hole in the wall.

"HEY, NO! YOU CAN'T HIDE IN THERE FOREVER, SPEEDY!" Link screamed, standing beside the hole. He suddenly heard a 'squeak' behind him. He spun around, and there was the key-mouse, staring at him.

"Wha-? You-? How did-? HUH? HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" Link shouted, utterly confused. The mouse turned and ran, Link right behind it. He saw another hole ahead, which the mouse ran into.

"DAMN IT!" he shouted. The mouse stuck its head out of the hole and stuck its tongue out at Link.

"SHUT UP!" Link shouted, stabbing at the mouse. The blade made contact, and the mouse somehow spontaneously exploded. The key fell to the ground with a soft clatter.

"Stick your tongue out at me, will you? Not today, not ever, mouse!" Link said, picking up the key. He walked back to the locked door, where Ciela waited.

"Any troubles?" she asked as Link unlocked the door.

"None that weren't resolved," the hero answered as the door swung open. They followed the path out of the cave.

Outside was a group of buildings, with people walking around. A dock was to the east, and docked there was a fair-sized steamship, floating gently as waves rolled by.

"We're finally here! That's the ship Grandpa was talking about," Ciela said as she and Link stared at it. "Now all we have to do is find the captain!"


	4. Looking for Linebeck

_Alright, here's chapter four. Sorry it's a bit late, but schoolwork's piling up, and naturally, that comes first. Oh, and 'Link and the dock-guy' was basically my reactions when I played the game. Anyway, enjoy!_

_*Completion Revision*_

**_Chapter 4: Looking for Linebeck_**

"Sorry, I wasn't listening. What'd you say?" Link asked, turning to face Ciela. The fairy blinked before understanding his request.

"Find captain," she answered shortly, and Link nodded. That made sense.

"Yeah, alright," Link replied. "Hey, it may just be a hunch, but do you think that the guy standing on the dock, looking almost admirably at the ship might be the captain?" At this, he pointed to a man on the dock. Ciela turned to face the man that the boy was referring to; he was static as he simply stood at the edge of the dock and marvelled at the gleaming ship moored next to the shipyard.

"Uh, yeah, I suppose that would technically make sense," Ciela replied slowly. She figured that to find Linebeck, they'd have to go on some big goose chase around the island in a pointless puzzle that would at the least have Link whining and moaning, and at the most have the boy killed. _Wait, I know who Linebeck is, and that's not even-_

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get him to help us," Link said excitedly, running towards the dock. Ciela snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at the boy who was running away from her.

"Link, wait! That's not… oh, whatever. He'll find out anyway. The price you pay for being impatient..." Ciela shrugged, fluttering over slowly to the boy.

Link ran onto the dock over to the man, his spirits high. As he approached, the man turned to him with a mystical gleam in his eye and a wide smile on his face, which made the hero stop in his tracks and examine the man closely.

"Look at that beauty," the man told him. Link smiled.

"A truly majestic sight," he said. Link's smile grew wider.

"She could conquer the sea, she could!" the man said, turning to the ship and stroking it gently. Link was just short of jumping for joy. Tetra banished from his thoughts, he really wanted to hop onto this amazing boat and go for a ride around the island. He could already imagine the adventures he could have with this special ship, which were now playing in his mind.

"Ah, if only she was mine…"

Link froze. He heard his illusion shatter like glass, while his brain scratched to a stop. Slowly, he registered what the man had said to him. _If only... She was... Mine? As in not mine already? YOU'RE NOT LINEBECK?_

The man walked away with a sigh and a dreamy smile, leaving Link with his mouth hanging open. Ciela, who had been listening from a distance, calmly flew over to him and slapped his face to snap him back to attention.

"You know, if you had an attention span of longer than two seconds, I could have _told_ you that I've seen Linebeck, and that that guy wasn't him," Ciela explained, smiling at Link's shock. Said boy hadn't moved, save for the occasional eye-twitch as a vein in his forehead became dangerously prominent. Finally he gritted his teeth and began cracking his knuckles to calm down.

"Come on, let's go to the bar. If he's not there, maybe someone will be that knows where he is," Ciela suggested. Link slowly blinked out of his growing anger and followed Ciela to the bar, muttering darkly about the guy who had fooled him and typical village behaviour.

When they entered, they saw the bartender cleaning a glass, with a man on a stool, beer in hand, swaying slightly. The bartender noticed them and asked, "Can I help you?"

"Can I get a glass of vodka, please? On the rocks, it's been a tough day," Link asked, pulling out his rupee bag.

"Link! You're like, ten! You can't drink!" Ciela scolded.

"Tsk, shows what you know. I'm almost thirteen!"

"Wha- That's _still_ too young! I know you're not from around here, but there are still laws you have to follow! The legal drinking age here is..." The fairy trailed off and turned to the bartender. "What _is _the legal drinking age here?"

"There isn't one," the bartender replied with a shrug as he threw his towel over his shoulder. "There aren't any kids on this island, haven't you ever noticed? Why do you think we have a bar in the middle of town? One with no door, for that matter?"

"So you're just going to sell this minor a drink?" Ciela asked incredulously. The bartender shrugged again.

"Sure, why not? His buzz, his problem. It's still my profit, so I don't really give two hoots."

"Look, I haven't been paying attention to what you've been arguing about, but I just got majorly tricked, and I need a drink," Link told both of them. "So please get it? I've got a captain to find after this."

"Certainly. Six rupees, please," the bartender said, holding out the glass. Link took it and gave him the money.

Ciela sighed as she slowly paced around the room. "Some world _we_ live in."

Link downed the alcohol, then asked, "Do either of you know where a man called Linebeck is at? Assuming you're not him, and I sincerely hope you aren't," he added, glancing at the very drunk man.

"Linebeck? Yeah, he was here a few minutes ago, and then left to go to the Temple of the Ocean King," the bartender said while Link motioned for another glass.

"Aye," the drunk man agreed, his words very slurred. "He be a fool. That Temple'll suck the life right outta ya!"

"So I've heard," Link replied as he knocked back another drink. He nearly fell off of his chair, and repositioned himself as he pointed to his glass again.

Ciela said, "Let's go find him, Link. We know where he is now! Thanks for your help!" she called to the bartender.

"I'm not done yet!" Link snapped as his loudly slurped his third drink. Ciela examined his glass closely before exclaiming, "Link, you're not _mixing_ alcohols, are you? That doesn't look like vodka."

"No, this one is rye. Last one was rum too. The trifecta," Link said with a goofy grin, holding up his fingers like a triangle. He then noticed his hands and stared at them deeply, trying to figure out what he was even doing.

Ciela sighed and turned to the bartender. "Yeah, BIG thanks for your help," she muttered sarcastically, while the man waved a hand. "Profit's a profit."

"Damn it, why do you talk like a stereotypical pirate?" Link slurred, turning to the drunk man. "I find it offensive, since my best friend is an anti-stereotypical pirate! Because she's a GIRL! She-she'd kill me if she heard me say that. It's sort of sexist, you know." He looked around the room and blinked several times. "Where are we?"

Ciela facepalmed. "Y'know what, maybe I should push you into the water. It'll wake you up a bit," she murmered into her hand. She looked back up, only to realize that the hero wasn't there. "Wait, Link? Where are you?"

"He just ran out the door," the bartender said with a laugh. "You didn't hear him fall off his chair or hit his head on the door frame on his way out? Oh, and by the way, he owes me another twelve rupees. His money bag is still on his chair, but I don't feel like getting it."

Ciela sighed and doled out what Link owed before taking the bag and flying out the door. As she left, she heard the drunk man say, "Well, I best be off, Charlie. *Hic* The wife's gonna kill me!"

"That's it, I'm cutting you off," the bartender told him. "And enough of the sailor talk! And 'Charlie'? Where'd you get Charlie from?"

"Link! Where did you go? And how did you get there when you can't walk a straight line?" Ciela called. She spun around, trying to get a glimpse of green, only to catch a fleeting glance of a tunic disappearing into a tent. "Oh Lord, a bazaar. More social interaction..."

She flew towards the tent, only to hear a loud, poorly articulated voice coming from inside. She entered to hear, "I swear, I had money like five minutes ago! I-I-I just lost it! Write me an IOU, I'll be fine, you can owe me for it later."

"Link, _what_ are you doing?" Ciela asked flatly, observing the proprietor huddling scared underneath her table of wares. The hero spun around and tried to keep his balance, though failed to do so.

"I'm trying to rent a shield, but this girl won't owe me for it!" Link replied as he picked himself off the ground. Ciela facepalmed again.

"Listen to me, you inebriated idiot. You can't 'rent' a shield, that's stupid. Just buy it so we can go get Linebeck and move on with our lives." Link blinked as he tried to focus on the fairy.

Finally, he said, "I can't do that either, I was robbed!" He then noticed the bag the fairy was holding and gasped. "So, YOU robbed me! I thought all those years together meant something special!" He sank to the ground and began to cry, while Ciela stared at him dryly.

"Link, I've only known you for half an hour. You left your bag in the bar when you dashed out for whatever reason. You're scaring this poor woman. Now pay for your shield before I stick that sword somewhere you _can't_ block."

Link slowly looked up at her and said nothing. After about a full minute of silence, he asked, "We were in a bar?"

He got his reply through a smack in the face.

"Okay, let's go to this temple," he said, rubbing his tender cheek as he deposited some rupees on the table and grabbed his new shield. They exited the bazaar and made their way across the town square. Link noticed the bar and tried to go in, but Ciela shoved him away and slapped him every time he tried to go near.

"Alright Link, we're going to the Temple of the Ocean King," Ciela said, leading the way to the temple. "I'd think the odds of us scouring it in this chapter are slim, so you have a chance to sober up a bit."

"Yay," was the boy's only reply before he doubled over and began to retch. Ciela felt slightly sickened as Link threw up all over the ground, holding his stomach as he did so. "Hey, I feel a bit better already," he said weakly as he wiped his mouth. The fairy only nodded as they slowly continued to follow the path to the temple.

"There it is," Ciela said a couple of minutes later, and Link glanced up. A large stone building stood before them, its shadowed entrance taunting them. Ciela turned to Link and examined him briefly. "Are you feeling well enough to go in?"

Link stretched, all pain, as well as his buzz, gone from his body. "You bet," he said with a clear head and a nod. "Let's go."


	5. Ocean King's Temple

_Happy Halloween! I know it's a bit late for that, but I've been busy, ok? I also noticed this today. Anyone else notice how the Temple of the Ocean King's safe zones are similar to the light beacons on Dark Aether in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes? And the whole atmosphere-killing-you thing is the same too. Wierd. Anyways, enjoy!_

_*Completion Revision*_

_**Chapter 5: Ocean King's Temple**_

Link and Ciela slowly surveyed the landscape. The entrance to the temple was an old stone structure with an open doorway that led into darkness. _Kind of like a cave,_ Link thought, and shivered. Broken pillars lay cracked and shattered all around the area.

"I sure hope someone fired the landscaper," Link noted with a whistle. Ciela gave him a hard slap across the face.

"Don't say that, it's rude," the fairy scolded. The hero rubbed his sore cheek meekly.

He started, "But the architectural design-"

"Stop it, you're being picky and stupid!" Ciela yelled. "C'mon, let's just go in!"

Link rolled his eyes and nodded. They were about to enter when the ground began to shake again.

"Oh no, not another earthquake!" Ciela moaned.

"Man, what is wrong with this island? Was it built on a fault line or something?" Link asked, crossing his arms and frowning.

Ciela stared at him with an annoyed look. "Do you even listen to the garbage that comes out of your mouth?" she asked. "First of all, we won't know about fault lines for hundreds of years! And second of all, you can't _build_ an island, that's just dumb!"

Link glared at the fairy. "Oh yeah? Well _pbbbbtttt_!" he said, blowing his tongue at her.

Ciela sighed. "Just... Let's just find Linebeck. You're hurting my brain."

Taking slow, cautious steps, they entered the temple. Glancing around, Link saw some undamaged, upright pillars, a complete parallel to what was lying just outside. Three skeletons littered the ground, and giant stone stairs on either side of the room led up to an altar, on which something too small to be seen sat. Beneath the altar was a doorway. The pair started for it, but something stopped them.

"Hey…" a faint voice said. Link turned around and noticed one of the skeletons now had a glowing blue fiery orb-like thing floating above it. Apparently it was the thing that had spoken.

"A ghost!" Link cried. "I've seen hundreds before but they suddenly terrify me! Oh noooo-" he started to scream like a girl, until Ciela slapped him again.

"In this temple," the ghost began softly, "if you are not careful, you will have the life sucked out of you and end up like me. There are purple glowing areas everywhere, called Safe Zones. Stay in them, and you will not be harmed."

"Uh... Thanks for the info," Ciela said. The ghost retreated to its remains without a word.

"That was oddly helpful, and none too coincidental... Come on Link, let's go!" Ciela yelled. Link slowly came forward with his arms wrapped around his chest.

"Ghosts can't hurt you. Ghosts are nice and friendly, like Casper. That's why he's Casper the Friendly Ghost!" he said in a small voice before laughing hysterically.

"I'm sorry, you were a hero _where_?" Ciela asked.

Link looked up and glared at her. "Hmph." He strolled by, ignoring the winged ball that continued to mock him, and walked through the doorway.

They were in a new room, but the layout was entirely different. Walls were everywhere, giving the impression of a maze. There was a foggy mist hanging in the air. Glowing safe zones were scattered around the room, one of which Link and Ciela were currently standing in. In front of them, across a misty path, was another, surrounded mostly by walls. The north and south sides were open, but were blocked by spikes. And in the middle stood a man wearing a long blue coat, a while shirt, and had somewhat long brown hair. He was also waving his arms frantically at them.

"Hey! Kid!" called the man. "I'm stuck! I saw this trap too late, and I can't get out of here. There's a switch somewhere in this room. Over there, I think." He pointed to the northwest side of the room. "Can you get to it and free me? I mean, I could easily jump over this incredibly short spikes, but…" He clutched his leg. "I fell on my ankle. I think I broke it, so I can't move."

"You want _me_ to go into the life-sucking fog to save your life, strange-man-who-I-just-met-while-looking-for another-man-in-here?" Link asked with a snort. "I'm fine here, thanks."

"Link, you said you were a legendary hero. Don't heroes risk their lives to save the innocent useless people who can't avoid danger?" Ciela asked skeptically.

"Hey!" the man yelled with a rather rude hand gesture. Link, however, shook his head. "Only if there's a foe to fell. There's no felling foe-fog, so go fu-"

Ciela rolled her eyes and shoved Link out into the fog before he could finish. Immediately, everything changed. The boy's skin felt very cold and clammy. The fog entered his body as he breathed, and seemed to fill his lungs as he started to feel weak. Already he felt as though he could pass out at any moment.

"Don't stay in the fog too long!" the man called to him. "Use your head! Get to another safe zone, quickly!"

Link quickly stumbled to his left, moving as fast as his tired body would allow him. A safe zone was ahead, and he slowly collapsed into it.

"Uh... You alright?" Ciela called out, having not moved from her zone.

"You're not too bright, are ya, kid?" the man asked with a smirk.

"Hey! You should've heard me talk about architectural design and fault lines earlier!" The boy countered with a grimace.

"...Sure. You'll feel weak because you've never experienced that feeling before," the man continued. "You'll feel better in the safe zone. Be careful when you're not in one, though. You'll eventually get used to the feeling, and won't be able to tell how weak you are!"

"Like being with a woman, I hear," Link mumbled with a snicker. A rock hitting him in the head signified that Ciela had heard his comment.

The man's words were true, at least. When he had fallen into the zone, Link felt warm and, well, protected. He couldn't think of a better word to describe with.

Feeling better, he stood up. His eyes found the next zone, and he quickly ran to it. That time wasn't as bad; Link had anticipated the feeling, and quickly made it. He continued to run from zone to zone in the direction the man had said, and finally leapt into one that held a black orb. Link drew his sword and hit it, and it illuminated a green light. The spikes surrounding the man lowered, and the man, seeing his chance, quickly ran to the entrance zone. When Link returned, the man grabbed him and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Haha! You did it, kid! I'm free!" he shouted, swinging Link around by the arms.

"You ran out of there pretty fast, and now you're dancing! You're ankle isn't broken, you cheap liar!" Ciela accused.

The man stopped and glared at Ciela. "It was _too_ broken," he said, "I'm just a really fast healer, that's all."

"Yeah, whatever you say. I believe you," replied Ciela, in a that's-the-worst-excuse-ever tone.

"So who are you anyway?" Link asked. _And if you're not Linebeck after that, I'll hold you in the fog to die,_ he thought crossly.

An arrogant look flashed across the man's face. "The name is Linebeck," he said impressively. "The captain of the _S.S. Linebeck_!"

"...Nnnope, never heard of that title," Ciela answered.

Linebeck's jaw fell open. "You're joking."

"Join the club man, I got the same reaction," said Link bitterly.

"So what are you two doing in a place like this? This isn't a place for kids," Linebeck told them.

"We're looking for a way to find the Ghost Ship," Link answered. Linebeck's eyes flashed darkly, and he lunged forward and grabbed Link's neck.

"You're after its treasure, aren't you? Admit it! Well you can't have it! I'm after it and it's mine! Mine, understand? I called dibs!" he yelled, shaking Link ferociously.

"We're not after the treasure, you greedy pirate!" Ciela yelled back. "His friend was kidnapped by the ship, and we're trying to save her!"

Linebeck stopped shaking Link, who was quite dizzy. He was silent for a moment, before releasing Link. "Alright kid," he said to the boy who proceeded to throw up all over the floor, "How about we help each other then? You find whatever's in this room that can help us, and we'll all go after the Ghost Ship. But I get the treasure. Deal?" he asked, stretching out his hand.

"Zuh-wha?" Link said. He was still very dizzy; he couldn't stand still, stumbling back and forth. He had heard what Linebeck said, but it was taking a while to register. He took the outstretched hand, and Linebeck shook it.

"Great!" he proclaimed with a grin. "Now, go find whatever's in this room. The back half of the room is locked, but I found a key earlier. You take it," he finished, handing Link the key. "Now go find whatever it is that needs finding! And be quick about it, hey? We're burnin' daylight in here."

Link blinked slowly, and with a stagger fell on his ass. Linebeck crouched down and fanned some air into his face, until he was good to go. Link stood up, slapped himself to pump himself up, and ran to to switch that had unlocked Linebeck's prison. There was a locked door behind it, and when Link put in the key it swung open. Passing through, Link saw a door barricading something. Looking around, he saw two switches in the corners of the room. He ran to the left one, but spikes blocked his way. They sprung up and retracted at set intervals, and Link timed it and got across. The switch was in a safe zone, so Link caught his breath before hitting the switch. When he did however, a chime that sounded like a countdown started. He began to panic, but with a couple deep breaths quickly ran toward the other switch. More spikes blocked his way, but he timed his run and got across with no problem. He hit the other switch, and the timer stopped. The door lowered, revealing stairs. Link climbed them and entered a safe zone, with a white and gold chest in the center.

He opened it and found a map inside. The map was divided into four quadrants in the Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and the Southwest. The southwestern quadrant was visible, while the other three were covered in a scratchy fog drawn on.

"A map? An incomplete one at that... How's that going to help?" Link wondered before returning to the entrance.

As Link reached his destination however, he noticed Linebeck and Ciela were gone. He exited the temple and ran all the way back to town where, at the dock, he saw Ciela, Linebeck, and Oshus, who was whacking Linebeck with his staff.

As Link came closer, he heard Oshus say, "And this is for leaving Link! And _this_ is for leaving Link!"

"Yeah! Hit 'em again, Grandpa!" Ciela cheered.

"Ow! I didn't mean -ow! - to leave the kid! I –ow! - just thought I'd –ow!- wait by my ship! He'll come!"

"_Ahem_," Link said, and everyone turned to face him.

"Link!" Ciela cried. She was immediately bowled over by the captain.

"Kid!" Linebeck called. "I knew you'd be okay! But _some _people," he glared at Oshus, "just have _no_ patience!"

"So, Link," Oshus spoke, ignoring Linebeck, "what did you retrieve from the temple?"

"This map," replied Link, holding the map out.

"A Sea Chart!" Linebeck exclaimed, grabbing it. After studying it for a minute, he looked up at Oshus. "Hey, what's the deal, old man? There's no secret on here."

"Ah, Linebeck, has the map's secret eluded you?" Oshus asked with an amused smile. Linebeck looked confused. Oshus pointed to an island in the middle of the chart. "See this?" he asked. "The material is all rough, as if it could come off."

Link pulled out his sword and carefully used the blade to scratch the material off. Underneath was a red symbol. It resembled Din's Pearl from his last adventure, Link noted.

"This island is where you must go," Oshus told them.

Linebeck looked at it, and then at an island in the upper-right corner. "Alright, this is Mercay," he said, pointing to it, "and we're to go here. That won't be too long, but still, long enough. We'd better get going! C'mon kid!" He walked onto the boat that had been docked there earlier. The words _S.S. Linebeck_ were faintly visible on the hull.

"Right," Oshus said. He turned to Ciela. "Ciela, you are not a normal fairy. You've always craved adventure, which is just nutty. Regardless though, here is your chance to satisfy that craving. Just take care of Link, okay? Don't mess him up too much."

"Of course, Grandpa! Don't worry, nothing will happen to us!" Ciela told him.

"Kid! Sparkles! Come on, let's go!" Linebeck yelled at them. Link and Ciela quickly climbed onboard, and waved at Oshus.

"Bye Grandpa!" Ciela called.

"Take care, you two," Oshus called back, also waving. "Leave me a message or I'll get cranky!"

The pair looked at each other, both at a loss as to what that could possibly mean. Suddenly, smoke started to rise out of the chimney. The wheels began to turn and push water behind them. They departed from the dock, and they were off! Ready to begin their quest to free Tetra!


	6. Passing the Time

_Hey all. Man, it's been a while, huh? Sorry about that, I've been super-busy with my high school's Major Production. All my spare time lately has gone into getting ready fot that. But now that it's over, I'll be a lot quicker with updates. And on that note, I give you chapter 6 of Phantom Hourglass!_

_**Chapter 6: Passing the Time**_

Linebeck's ship cut through the water, its engine chugging along nicely while smoke rose in puffs from the chimney. Linebeck was below deck, steering the ship. As for the green-clad hero, he was on the deck leaning his head over the railing. Occasionally the boat would rock, causing him to moan and clutch his stomach.

Ciela flew up to him. As confused as she was, she was quite enjoying herself with this scene. However, she couldn't hold her confusion back long.

"Hey, Link?" she asked. Link slowly turned his head around to face her. "Uhhh… what is it? I really don't want to talk…"

"I'm just a bit confused," Ciela replied. "I mean, when you were telling me about your last adventure, you said that you sailed the entire Great Sea! So how could you do that, but be sea-sick now?"

"…That was in a sailboat. One that didn't know when to shut up, mind you. But as talkative as he was, at least he was smooth, not this 'putt-putt' thing that Linebeck's doing. I'm not used to it! And the pirate ship was smooth too! Bumpy water-riding is throwing my stomach off…" He turned away quickly and put his head back over the railing.

"Ok, I'm just going to pretend that you _didn't_ just call your sailboat a 'he', and said that it talked to you…" Ciela answered, looking a bit disturbed. _Maybe he's been alone adventuring too long, I think he's starting to crack!_

_Stupid fairy, asking stupid questions. Of course the rockiness of the boat is making me sick! And what was the skeptical look on her face all about when I said the King of Hyrule talked too much? She talks too much, too. Hey, this reminds me of that book I read about the Hero of Time! It said he had a fairy companion, too. And it never shut up. It kept repeating the words 'Hey!', 'Listen!', and 'Watch out!'. I think I know how he feels…_

_Man, I'm hungry. I wonder if the kid can cook, 'cause if there's an opportunity for something than canned beans, I'll gladly take it!_ Linebeck thought as he climbed up to the deck.

"Hey, kid! Can you cook by any ch-" he stopped when he saw Link leaning over the railing, looking sick. "Gee kid, you're looking a little green today." Linebeck stared at him for a minute, then started rolling on the deck laughing his head off at his joke. Link just rolled his eyes.

Five minutes later, Linebeck stood up, wiping tears out of his eyes. "Hehe, _that_ was a good one," he said, still smiling.

"Oh, go to hell," Link replied. Finally getting used to the boat's rocking, he got off the railing and sat on the deck. "Wait, if you're up here, then who's driving the ship?! OH MY GODDESSES, WE'RE GOING TO CRASH!" Link started to panic, screaming like a baby, until Ciela slapped him across the face.

"Why does everyone keep doing that?" Link asked, rubbing his cheek.

"You gotta relax kiddo. First of all, we're going straight. Second of all, what do you see?" He pointed off the bow of the deck.

"Uh… water?"

"And?"

"…Sky?"

"_And?_"

"...Water?"

"My point exactly. What are we going to crash into, a cloud?" Linebeck asked, rolling his eyes.

"Humph," Link answered, frowning at him.

"So then, tell me about your kidnapped friend," Linebeck said, also sitting down.

"Well, she's the captain-"

"Wait, wait, wait. _She?_" Linebeck asked, a grin growing on his face.

"What are you so surprised for? I'm pretty sure we acknowledged that his friend was a girl in the time we've known you!" Ciela said.

"Uh…" Linebeck muttered, trying to remember.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

"_So what are you two doing in a place like this? This isn't a place for kids," Linebeck told them._

"_We're looking for a way to find the Ghost Ship," Link answered. Linebeck's eyes flashed, and then he lunged forward and grabbed Link's shoulders._

"_You're after the treasure, aren't you?! Admit it! Well you can't have it! I'm after it and it's mine!" he yelled, shaking Link quite hard._

"_We're not after the treasure!" Ciela yelled back. "His friend was kidnapped by the ship, and we're trying to save her!"_

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

"Oh yeah, I remember now," Linebeck answered. "But _anyway_, he said, looking at Link and grinning once again, "How come you want to rescue her so bad? Something going on between you two?"

"W-what?! No, of course not!" Link said, though he was starting to blush.

"Ha! There _is_, isn't there?" Linebeck prodded.

"No, there's not! She's just my friend, and I'm trying to get her back! I didn't even want to, I was forced to!" Link said, sounding frantic.

"Oh, okay. I see how it is. You were _forced_ into doing this. You don't care about her at all," Linebeck replied, starting to turn away.

"Yes I do! I care about her a lot! I didn't mean I was forced into this unwillingly, I just meant I was going to get to it at my own pace, that's all!" Link said. He then realized what had just happened, and moaned. Linebeck turned back around, his face now wearing a smirk.

"So you admit then? You _do _like her, don't you?" he asked.

Link sighed. "Maybe a bit, but what's the big deal? She's my best friend! Of course I care about her! So of course I want to get her back!" He explained.

Linebeck stopped smirking, and nodded his head. "I see now," he said. "She's a friend to you, and she was taken. Naturally, you'd want to get her back."

Link smiled, relieved. "Exactly. That's all there is. Besides, I'm a hero, and she's a pirate captain. They're opposites! It'd be hard to do."

Linebeck stood up. We're almost at the island on the sea chart. It's called the Isle of Ember, by the way." He started to walk toward the cabin. "Why don't you cook us up something?"

"I don't know how to cook."

"Jeez, how'd you live during your last adventure-thing you were telling me about?"

Link shrugged. "I don't really remember. Berries and pears that were for animals were actually pretty tasty. I ate a few of those, but stopped when I started to feel… hypnotized. I think it was those pears, so I fed 'em to seagulls."

"And the berries?"

"I wasn't going to take a chance with them, so I mostly fed them to fish I saw. I made a game of it, too. They'd jump into the air a lot, right? So when they did, I'd pelt them with berries, they'd talk to me, and then eat them! It was fun, until I was sailing along and I almost got swallowed by this big octo. I tried to feed it berries, but it just laughed. So after that, I just dumped them into the water whenever a fish was nearby."

"That's a decent lesson to learn," Ciela noted. "When did you learn this on your adventure?"

"About 10 minutes after starting," Link replied. Ciela slapped herself.

"What?" Link asked, looking at Ciela.

"Nothing, nothing," she replied, shaking her head.

"Alright, you know what? I'll just cook instead," Linebeck said, turning and descending down into the cabin. "I hope you like beans!" he called to them.

As he went down, he noticed an island looming in the distance. _The Isle of Ember, finally! I wonder what we'll have to do to find the Ghost Ship. Regardless, that kid will do anything to get his friend back. But he's still young, that much shows._ "_Besides, I'm a hero, and she's a pirate captain. They're opposites! It'd be hard to do." It's not that complicated, Link. Someday, when you're older, you'll see that it's not hard to do at all…_

His stomach growled. "Man, I need food. It's too bad that these beans shoot right through you. And even worse that there's now three of us, but only one , this'll be a loooong day…"


	7. Isle of Ember

_Man, I've got to start updating sooner. I have the ideas, I just don't really have the time or willpower to write up a chapter. I only need about two hours to write a chapter, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to get even that! And the short-cut doesn't really exist in the game, I just don't want to start writing a dungeon level right now, so I'm going to put it off as much as I can. Maybe the next temple (no, not the Ocean King, that one'll be hard enough to write on it's own). I don't know if this chapter is funny. There wasn't a whole lot I could do, so I just stuck it wherever I could. Tell me if you like! And also, I'm going to celebrate 500 hits to Phantom Hourglass! For my first story, that's a nice surprise, and I'm only on chapter 7! And on that note, REVIEW! I have _way_ too few reviews right now, so start reviewing if you're not already!!! And finally, have a very Merry Christmas!!!_

_-BTM707_

_**Chapter 7: The Isle of Ember**_

After Linebeck had locked himself in the bathroom for half an hour, with Link and Ciela hammering on the door because they needed it too, and then nearly crashing into the island since no one was paying attention to where they were going (which resulted in Link having another panic attack and, well, let's just say he didn't have to go anymore), they finally pulled up to the dock on the Isle of Ember.

Link couldn't believe his eyes when they got off the ship. "It… It's a _volcano_?!"

"Gee, is it?" Ciela asked sarcastically. "I never would have guessed with the big towering mountain spewing fireballs every ten seconds."

"Alright, let's find out why we were supposed to come here," Link said, talking a step forward. Ciela followed, but Linebeck looked a bit nervous.

"Uh yeah, I just remembered. There are some repairs my ship needs, and I should probably do the now, while I have time, you know? Anyways, I should be done by the time you guys are done whatever it is you need to do-"

Suddenly, he grabbed his stomach. "Oh man, I need to use the restroom NOW!" he shouted as he turned and ran back onto his boat. Ciela shook her head, and Link rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's his fault! He's the one who ate three cans of beans _alone_! He'll be in there for another hour, at least," Link said to Ciela, who nodded.

"And how about that story of his? 'There are some repairs my ship needs.' I'll bet! That was the worst lie I've ever heard!" she added. Link looked at her.

"Wait, you think that was a lie? But that would mean he didn't want to come with us to do our thing," Link replied, his eyes growing wide. Ciela stared at him for a minute, then turned her back on him, muttering "Dumbass" as she did.

"So, should we go then?" Link asked.

"I guess," shrugged the fairy, and so they set off.

The Isle had five levels to it. The first had two houses on it, and the second had one, but other than that, there was really no sign of life on it. Link decided to try the first house. After finding it was empty, he went into the second, and called to Ciela.

The fairy flew into the house, only to find that it was empty as well. The strange thing was that there was a burning torch at the back, and an open journal on a desk, which Link was reading. Ciela flew over to Link, who began reading the journal out loud: "'_If you're reading my words, it means that I have fallen to fate… So look east to pick up the torch and take up my duty. –Kayo'. _Alright then, that was mildly interesting, but I guess it's just some inscription about death," Link said, shutting the book. "C'mon, there's still one more house we have to check."

They ran out and headed over to some stairs leading up to the next level of the island. A sign stood next to them, telling them that a fortune-teller lived ahead.

Link entered the house, hoping to see _someone_, but again, it was empty. However, there was a set of stairs leading to a basement, so he followed them down, with Ciela following.

As soon as they came out into the room, a wall came up behind them. "Oh great, this again," Link muttered as he took out his sword. Several monsters appeared, but almost fainted when they saw the 'victim' was armed. After Link had slain them all, he heard a voice calling, "Hello! Kayo, is that you?" Link walked over to a piece of the wall that noticeably did not belong. He called out, and the voice returned.

"Can you help me? My name is Astrid!"

Ciela brightened. "Link! Astrid is the person we're supposed to find while we're here!"

Link raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know this all of the sudden?"

"Because Grandpa told me to tell you right as we left Mercay, and I… I just did, didn't I"? Ciela finished sheepishly. Link groaned.

"Thanks for telling me _now_, instead of telling me on the trip here, when it would have been useful to know! Anyway, why are you locked in that room, Astrid?"

"Some monsters came and locked me in here. I don't even know why, they just said they were bored. Please tell me they're dead."

"Yeah, they're dead. So how do we get you out of there?" Ciela asked.

"Beats me. I didn't even know I had this closet-thing! Is there a switch outside the door, or something?" Astrid asked. Link looked around, and saw a map of the island hanging beside the door. As he leaned closer, words appeared: _'Haha, someone got locked in the closet-thing! Okay, seriously, if you want to get her out, touch the locations of the three torches located on the island here on this map.'_

"Hey, how'd you know that there was a girl locked in here?" Link asked.

'_Uh, I… I used my awesome powers of presence to feel that it was a female! Yeah, I'm just cool like that.'_

"'To feel that it was a female'? Okay then, you perverted map-thing, I'm just going to ignore you now, 'cause you're starting to weird me out," Link replied, backing away a little. He touched the house that had a torch in it, and a checkmark appeared. He touched a spot on the north part of the island, and another check formed.

"Hey, how'd you know about that one?" Ciela asked skeptically.

"I saw it as we came in," Link replied simply. Ciela just shrugged and looked at the map. "Ok, there's just one more, but where is it?"

"I can tell you," a voice, different than Astrid's, said. Lick and Ciela spun around to see a ghost, in the shape of a boy, floating there.

"W-who are you?" Link asked, pulling out his sword.

"I am Kayo, apprentice to Astrid," the boy told them. "I was struck down about a week ago, on the east side of the island. You were supposed to come and talk to me, but I sensed that you wouldn't, so I came here."

"Kayo?" Astrid's voice called out. "You're… dead?"

"Yes I'm dead, dammit! You haven't noticed that I haven't been here for a week? You didn't use your freaky psychic powers to see what had happened to me?" Kayo asked angrily.

"No, I haven't done that since that one time I accidentally saw you on the toilet…"Astrid's voice fell away.

"Kayo blinked. "Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that," he said. "Anyway, the last torch is _here_." And with that, he pointed to a spot on the far east side of the island. The door fell, to reveal a woman garbed in fortune-teller's clothes. She stepped out and bowed to Link.

"Thank you, Link, for freeing me," she said. "I know why you have come. You are here for the Spirit of Power to aid you in your quest to save your friend. I shall grant access to the Fire Temple for you."

"Fire Temple?" Link asked. He suddenly had a painful flashback to Dragon Roost Cavern from his last adventure. The heat, lava, enemies… it had been his worst birthday _ever_. And he had also decided that he hated fire temples. "Um, I'd rather not go through a fire temple…"

Astrid shrugged. "Ok, I'll tell you a secret: If you jump down the center of the volcano on the Isle, you'll land in the middle of the Temple, skipping about three-quarters of it anyway!"

"Sweet! Go shortcuts!" Link cheered, and ran off to the center of the island. Ciela sighed, and flew after him.

Astrid turned to Kayo and said, "So you're dead, but you're a ghost. That means you still have a physical form, and _that_ means you can still work for me! Isn't that great?"

"Aw," Kayo whined, "Can't I just rest? I'm dead, so I don't really want to keep working…"

"Alright, how about I double your pay? Ghosts are great for a fortune-teller, they help the spookiness image! So what do you say?" Astrid asked.

"Double my pay? Sure, why not. But I don't start until Tuesday!" Kayo told her.

Back with Link, Ciela was watching the boy climb to the top of the Isle. After about five minutes, he finally made it.

"Why didn't you just use the paths?" Ciela asked. Link frowned.

"There were paths? Huh, I didn't notice. Anyway, let's GO!" Link shouted as he jumped down the volcano. Ciela briefly wondered if Astrid was even serious and didn't know Link's actual intelligence, but then shoved those thoughts aside and followed Link down.


	8. The Temple of Fire

_Well, now that school's back again, my updates will be even rarer then they already are. Ah well, I'll try my best. I got a lot of interesting ideas humour-wise for this chapter, but I only used about half of them. Gotta save a few, you know? Sorry if this chapter's a bit short, there was only so far I could go without skipping into the next chapter. Review!!_

_**Chapter 8: The Temple of Fire**_

Link dropped down through the volcanic core, and eventually came out… right into a pit of lava. After several minutes of Link shouting much profanity which would be censored in this story because it's T-rated, and Ciela absolutely busting a gut laughing at his pain, the two finally stopped their respective screaming and laughing to take a look at the room they were in.

There was one door ahead, and two chests, one on either side of where they- er, Link, now stood.

"…Wow, that was so totally worth it!" Link cheered, deciding which chest to open first. Ciela merely looked at the boy's still smoking butt and, deciding that Link was probably bipolar and had forgotten that he had just fell into a pool of not-easily-forgotten lava, just shook her head and said nothing.

Link chose the chest to his left and opened it to find- "…A boomerang? What am I supposed to do with a boomerang?"

Ciela shrugged. "If it's here, then there's probably _some_ use for it in this temple. Open the other chest now."

Link did so, and pulled out a giant, heavy key. "Oof! What am I supposed to do with this huge thing?"

Ciela shrugged again. "If it's here, then there's probably _some_ use for it in this temple."

"Stop repeating yourself. It's annoying," Link told her as he put the key down his pants. Ciela raised an eyebrow. "What did you just do?"

"Duh! I put the big key in my infinite pocket! Where else am I going to carry it?" Link replied, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, I'm starting to get curious as to what/where this magical pocket is. Put me inside," Ciela ordered. Link's eyes widened a bit.

"Uh, that's probably not a good idea. You could get squashed or something…" Link's voice faded away, and he shifted awkwardly. "Anyways, we'd better find this spirit thingy and get out of here. 'Cause it's really hot." They turned and headed for the door.

The next room was huge, and it looked to be the main room. Link had no idea where to even begin, but then something caught his eye. To his left was a massive door with a huge lock on it. Link pulled out the big key and put it in the keyhole. The lock fell away.

After the Link-cheered-until-Ciela-slapped-him thing you're probably accustomed to by now, they entered the now-unlocked door. The door closed behind them, and in this room there were some stairs leading upward and a tablet. Link, being the arrogant twelve-year-old he is, skipped the tablet and rushed up the staircase. Ciela only sighed before following.

When they reached the top, they were in a wide circular room. Suddenly, a panel slid and covered the stairway they had just come up! They were trapped!

Out of nowhere, a laugh sounded. Then, in a big explosion, a creature appeared! He had a black face with three spikes on top of his head, and wore a red rope that covered his feet, assuming he had any. It laughed again, then spoke.

"Mwahahahahahahaha! I am Blaaz, the master of fire! I am here to finish you, and there's nothing you can do about it! Hahaha!"

Link gasped. "Not Blaaz, the terrible fire master! Oh no, we're doomed! Oh wait, I've never heard of you. So please go away."

"I will not! The only way you can leave alive is to defeat me, and the only way to do _that_ is to be in possession of a boomerang!"

"Oh. So I guess there _was_ some benefit from me picking this up," Link said, pulling out his boomerang. Blaaz's eyes widened in fear. "Oh crap, I didn't know you actually had one! Goddesses, I'm so cocky!"

Link threw the boomerang at the boss, which hit him and made little stars appear above his head.

"Now's your chance, Link! Do something!" Ciela exclaimed. Link turned to look at her.

"Like what?"

"I don't know; go hit him with your sword or something!"

"Oh yeah, that's a good idea!"

"…"

"…What?"

"I MEANT NOW, YOU MORON!"

"Oh! Alright then."

Link ran at Blaaz, who was still surprisingly stunned, and impaled him with his sword. Blaaz thrashed around and screamed, then froze. He began to break apart and turn orange… When he was entirely devoid of colour, he exploded, and sand was left in his place. The sand then shot up through the ceiling of the room and disappeared.

Then, a bright glow of red light came from above. A red ball descended from the ceiling and floated slowly down to the pair. When it was level with them, wings spread out from it, showing it to be a fairy.

"Hey dude, thanks for totally whomping that guy! I'm Leaf by the way, the Spirit of Power. I was kidnapped by someone (don't know who, sorry man) and was imprisoned here. But now I'm free! And it's all thanks to you, green-hero and white-fairy!"

"Well then," Link said, "if this is the Spirit of Power, we're done here. And red fairy guy, you're going to have to come with us." Leaf nodded.

Link struck a pose with his hands in the air with Leaf floating above him, while a weird 'BA-DA-DA-DAAAAAAAAA!' sounded. A blue portal then opened up in the middle of the room. Leaf disappeared into Link's pocket, after some reluctance on Link's part. They then stepped into the portal and were warped out of the temple.

When they landed, they were standing outside what they assumed to be the Temple's entrance. Link noticed that the volcano had finally stopped erupting. "So, what do we do now?"

"Let's go talk to Astrid. She can probably tell us what we need to do next."

"Ok."

"…"

"Now?"

"Yes, Link. Now."


	9. The Phantom Hourglass

_Wow, it's really been a while, huh? Yeah, sorry about that. I've essentially been sick for the last month and a half. So, yeah, been busy with recovering and stuff. But on the bright side, I got a nice long one all ready for you! I think you'll like this one, I had a lot of fun writing it. Think of the length as an apology for making you guys wait so long or something. Whatever makes you happy. I _promise_ I'll try to pick up the updates a bit. I'm feeling better, so I likely won't be draggy anymore. Oh, and a BIG thanks to Starlll for letting me borrow Mudd in this chapter! I kinda didn't know where to stop with this one, the story's at a point where a bunch of small things happen. So yeah. Oh, and I'll leave the whole Link's pocket thing up to your imagination. For now. I'll explain it later, maybe. If I feel the imagination part is better, I won't touch on it. ;) And though I've never touched on it, Link has always had a shield with him. I might go back to the first Mercay chapter and edit it so that he buys one. And if you know the 'someone' I'm referring to, you've played Wind Waker. Oh, and I've finally remembered to do disclaimers! I've been meaning to since chapter 1, and it took 9 chapters, but I finally remembered to put one in! Alright, I'm done catching up. Enjoy chapter 9!_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Link, Tetra, Ciela, Linebeck or Zelda at all in any way, shape or form. Though you could say that as a parody, I _do_ own their personalities... Mudd the Third belongs to Starlll.

_**Chapter 9: The Phantom Hourglass**_

"Okay, so… Which way is Astrid's house?" Link asked stupidly. Ciela sighed.

"I'll lead the way, you just follow or something. I don't care," she replied before setting off to the west side of the island. Link hesitated, then soon ran to catch up.

"How do you know we're going the right way?" Link asked. "It could be back that way!" He pointed behind them.

Ciela just rolled her eyes. "Because one, the island isn't that big and we'd find our way around even if we did go the wrong way, and two, Linebeck's ship is _right_ there."

Link looked. The ship was about a hundred yards away from them. "Oh yeah, then Astrid's house would be…" he pointed to a lone house. "Right there!"

"Good detective work, genius. The tablet that says 'Astrid's House ahead' is still right there!" Ciela directed. Link ignored her and was looking at the entrance of the house. "Hold on, there's Astrid, and there's Linebeck. But who's that third guy?"

"What? There is no… third…" Ciela's voile faltered as she too looked towards the house. Indeed, there _was_ a mysterious third man, well, boy really, standing outside the house with Astrid and Linebeck. The pair quickly ran to the house.

The boy looked to be about 15, somewhat skinny, with messy brown hair, and red eyes with a tint of brown in them. He was wearing a grey-black tunic, with a massive longbow strapped across his back. He wore a belt with three scabbards around it; two daggers by his hands, and what looked to be a throwing knife sitting behind his waist. The boy looked rather young for his age, shown in his playful face as he listened to Astrid talk.

Said Astrid, "There will be a time in your adventure, Linebeck, that your friends will need your help. Do not doubt."

Linebeck snorted. "They're not my friends. I have only one friend, and that's me! I'm the only one I care about, and that'll never change! And the kid's an experienced adventurer; how would he ever need my help? I'm supplying him with my boat, that's all the help he needs from me." He suddenly turned and spied Link and grinned.

"Kid! You're back! Did you get the spirit-or-whatever? Can we get off this rock? Astrid is saying weird things, and this kid is actually listening to the garbage she's saying!" At the mention of the boy, he jerked his thumb toward him, who glanced over at Link for the first time.

At first, neither of them spoke. They just stood, measuring each other up. Link adjusted his stance very slightly to adopt a fighting stance, in case something did happen. The other boy just stared, and for a moment, nothing happened. All of the sudden, Link's eye twitched slightly.

In a flash of steel, the boy's daggers were in his hands and were cutting through the air at Link. Link, almost anticipating the move, drew his sword and parried the blow. The two stood, blades locked, eyes fixed on each other. Then, they jumped apart. The boy's blades danced through the air, slicing dangerously close to Link's face, who blocked with his shield. Link, in turn, was trying with all his strength to get a hit, but to no avail. The two boys fought on, with neither managing to get a solid hit on the other.

Astrid, Linebeck and Ciela watched, munching on some popcorn Linebeck had ran and pulled off of his ship when the fight began. Then, quickly building a fire, he popped it and dumped it into a sac. The three were now gazing on at the fight, none saying a word. They had taken bets on the winner of the fight earlier on. Astrid had 20 rupees on the boy, claiming she could see the result of the fight with her crystal ball. Linebeck, likewise, had 20 on Link, who he said he believed in, and also said that he wanted to stick it to Astrid and her stupid ball. Ciela didn't bet, saying she was the only one with brains and would end the fight if it went on long enough.

It was apparent that the two boys were tiring, their moves becoming slower. Finally, they jumped apart, kneeling on the ground, panting.

_Man, _Link thought, _this guy's tough! I couldn't get a shot on him, and he was keeping me busy so much I barely had time to think! Who is this guy…?_

As if in response to his thoughts, the boy stood up and sheathed his daggers. He slowly walked forward until he was beside the group. Grabbing some popcorn, he spoke, "You're tough. You really kept me busy."

Link slowly sheathed his sword and did the same. Approaching the group, he snagged some popcorn from Linebeck and said, "Yeah, well, you weren't exactly a picnic yourself." The boy smiled.

"I'm Mudd," the boy said. "I came here because I was bored, mostly, and wanted my fortune read for lack of anything better to do. I wandered up here and caught the fortune-teller talking to this sailor about a supposed destiny or something."

Link smiled. "My name is Link. Yeah, I'm on some quest to rescue my best friend. She's the pirate captain of the ship we live on."

Mudd whistled. "A pirate captain, huh? Wow, good thing I didn't kill you. The last thing I need is some crazy pirate captain chick on my heels because I killed her hero. That would slow down my progress of exploring the Great Sea."

"Man, you're just getting around to that now? I did that ages ago, in the middle of my last quest. A certain _someone_ wasn't happy, but you've got to fit sightseeing into adventuring, right?" Link asked, growing to like this Mudd with everything he said.

Mudd laughed. "Exactly! I've got no idea how I ended up here, though. I was just sailing along, and then WHAM! I'm here."

Link grew confused. What did Mudd mean, here? Here was the Great Sea, just like it always was. Granted, it wasn't the same sea he had explored during his last quest, but that's the thing about being a _Great_ Sea, right?

He was about to ask Mudd what he meant about 'here', when Mudd said "Well, I'd better get going. Got places to see here, people to meet, towns to pillage… I'll see you guys later." Mudd walked over to the dock, jumped into a speedboat, and, ripping through the water, quickly sailed away. Link just stared at what he had seen, before deciding that the boat he had seen wasn't real. He turned to Linebeck and Astrid, who were arguing about their bets. "Anyways guys, yes, I got the spirit we need. We can go now." Astrid turned to Link.

"Yes, Link. Sail back to Mercay and go back to the temple you descended there earlier. The spirit will help you go further. And with that, I bid you good-day." She turned and walked back into her house. "Come, Kayo! Let's get to work!"

"Alright, kid," Linebeck said, turning to Link, "you heard the weirdo. Let's go back to the killer life-sucking temple.

And on that note, they turned and boarded Linebeck's ship, and set sail north for Mercay Island.

* * *

_Several hours later…_

"Man, that's a long trip," Linebeck said stretching, as the group walked off the boat.

Link was anxious to get to the temple. He had remembered Oshus saying something important about their quest lying in the temple.

"So yeah, that temple almost killed me last time I was in it. I think I'll wait here," Linebeck said, turning back to his ship. Ciela grabbed his collar.

"Oh no, you're coming with us. We might _need_ you, as Astrid said." Linebeck cringed.

The three of them walked north to the entrance of the familiar temple. As they approached, Linebeck began to whimper, until Ciela hit him, albeit hard, stunning Linebeck long enough to be pushed through the entrance.

A few feet inside, the three stood waiting, their eyes adjusting to the light. Suddenly, a figure appeared at the entranceway, at which Linebeck shrieked.

"Oh, will you relax? Some treasure hunter you turn out to be," the voice of the figure snapped. The figure stepped forward to reveal Oshus. After Ciela was finished with her greeting and quick summary of the ordeal in the Fire Temple, Oshus turned to Link.

"Now then Link, above the doorway into the next room, there is a platform. You saw it the first time you walked under it?" Oshus asked. Link nodded. Oshus continued, "Now then, it is common knowledge that this temple drains life. However, up on that platform is a pedestal. On that pedestal rests an item you can use to protect yourself from the harmfulness of this Temple. I want you to go up and retrieve that item." Oshus directed to the small item on the pedestal. Link thought back to when he first saw that item. It had no significance to him at the time.

Link ran up the steps along the side of the room and approached the pedestal. It was a stone table that came up to his waist. On it was a small object.

It was an hourglass. The glass was green, and the bases were stone-grey with a symbol on them. The bottom chamber was about half full with sand. Thinking back to the first time he had seen it, Link had thought that it was empty. There had been no sand visible from the ground. But then, memories of the Fire Temple jumped into his mind. When Blaaz had died, his body had decomposed into sand, which had then disappeared through the roof. Was it possible, then, that the sand had come here, to fill this hourglass?

Link gently picked the hourglass up off the pedestal. It was warm in his hands. Link recognized the symbol on it as the same symbol above the temple entrance outside. It was also on the top of the doorway just below him. Link saw a gap in the stone-rail going around the balcony; he went through it and jumped to the floor.

Walking over to the others, Oshus smiled slightly, then began to explain. "That is the Phantom Hourglass, an object that was said to belong to the Ocean King. It was said to have appeared here when the temple began to drain life. As long as there is sand in the chamber, the Hourglass' effects will protect you from the life sucking feelings of his temple. But, when the sand has all gone to the other chamber, the protection will be gone."

"Wait," said Linebeck, "Can't you just flip it over like a regular hourglass?"

Oshus shook his head. "Flipping it will do nothing to distill the powers, or to reactivate them. However, when you stand in a safe zone, the sand will not fall. The Hourglass can only be reset by touching sunlight. In other words, by stepping outside. Right now, you have about ten minuets of protection. Make it last."

"Hang on," said Link, "Did the sand come from the boss of the Fire Temple?"

Oshus nodded. "When the life sucking in the temple began, the Sand of Hours, the sand in the Hourglass, was spread across the Great Sea. Much of it was turned into monsters, which then attacked other temples."

Said Link, "What made this temple so dangerous? What did all this?"

"You are not ready to know that," Oshus replied, shaking his head. "When the time comes, I will tell you what you want to know." With that, he turned and left the temple.

Linebeck snorted. "What a bizarre old man." He headed for the entrance. "I'll be back on my ship, kid. Come there when you're done here."

Link, alone with Ciela, decided to move on and get the item they'd need. They walked through the other doorway.

Stepping out past a safe zone, Link felt an invisible force push in on him. However, there was no draining feeling this time. He looked at the hourglass. It had flipped over on its own. Sand had begun to trickle down the middle into the other chamber. Another weird thing was that Link knew exactly how much time was left. There was a timer that had appeared on the top of the hourglass. _9:48… 9:47… 9:46…_

Link quickly ran forward to the door that had impeded him previously. It too had a symbol on it; the same symbol that had been uncovered on the Sea Chart: the symbol of Power. Link pulled the Spirit of Power out of his pocket. Leaf came up, coughing.

"Dude, what kind of stuff do you keep in there? That's sick, man! That's disgusting! I am not going back down there, you hear me dude?" Link grabbed him. "Just use your power and open this door." Leaf looked. "Huh? Oh, yeah, all right." He began to glow red, and in a moment the giant stone door swung open, revealing a descending staircase.

"Thanks, you're done now," Link said, grabbing the fairy. "What?" he cried suddenly.

"No, I'm not going back in there! I'm not goi-"

"I'm starting to wonder about that pocket of yours…" Ciela said slowly, glancing at where Leaf was now claiming to have been imprisoned.

"Don't worry about it. Let's go," Link said, climbing down the staircase, Ciela following.

As soon as they had gone down to the next floor, and Link was about to take a step out of the safe zone, two creatures appeared. They looked like knights with dark heavy armor, large swords and covered faces. "What _are_ they?" Ciela asked. "I dunno, but I bet I can kill one!" Link answered, smiling and drawing his sword. Suddenly, Oshus appeared in the safe zone behind them.

"Oh, thank Goddesses, you're still alive. I forgot to warn you about these things!"

Link shrugged. "Are they bad?"

Oshus nodded. "They are the worst! They're called Phantoms, and they guard the temple. That armor they wear is impenetrable; they can't be taken down, and trying is suicide. They can take _you _down with one hit and return you to the entrance of the floor though, so watch out. Oh, and you'll also lose about 30 seconds in the Hourglass. Being in a safe zone if one sees you is good, 'cause they can't walk in one. Now then, good luck!" Oshus disappeared back up the stairs.

Link gulped. "Well then, _that_ would have been unfortunate." Ciela nodded. "Just be sneaky, and don't let them see you."

Link slowly stepped out of the safe zone, the invisible pressures pushing against him once again. He wandered around until he saw a switch next to a locked door. He stepped on a switch, and a timer began counting. He quickly ran around until he saw two torches, one of which was lit up. Link pulled out his boomerang and slowly looked at it, then the flame. Taking a deep breath, he threw the boomerang. It sailed through the flame and caught, then flew to the next torch, which then lit up. With both torches alight, a fire wall on one side of the room dropped. With the timer having stopped, Link ran through that corridor, where a Phantom was patrolling. Link waited, then ran past it and hit a switch. A stone slab lowered, revealing a safe zone with a key. Link grabbed the key and ran back to the locked door. He unlocked the door, which lowered and revealed another set of stairs going down. Link took a deep breath, and descended with Ciela.

This next room was largely the same as the first. Link ran around, hit some switches, dropped a slab, grabbed a key, avoided Phantoms, and unlocked a door with more stairs leading down.

The third was room was different. There was a big safe zone to the north and a bit to the right of the room. In it was a giant image of the Triforce on the floor, and in each triangle there was a gold pedestal, each triangle shaped. Link looked around the room. There was a stationary Phantom, and behind him in a safe zone, sat a large gold triangle, called a Force Gem. Link glanced at the Hourglass. _4:22… 4:21… 4:20…_ Link silently crept behind the Phantom and grabbed the Gem. He slowly carried it to the large safe zone and put it in a pedestal. Then, he went around and found the remaining two Force Gems and brought them back. After he had placed them in their pedestals, they began to glow. Then, a slab lowered behind them. The room beyond was dark. Link and Ciela trudged into it.

The next room was weird. It was small and, as Ciela noted, there was no fog around. Link checked the Hourglass; the sand had stopped falling. Link looked around the small room until he noticed a gold chest. Going over to it, he opened it to reveal another Sea Chart. Closely examining it with the Southwestern quadrant he already had, he deduced that this was the Northwestern quadrant. Then, a blue light appeared. Stepping inside, the pair were transported back to the entrance of the temple. Link, looking at the Hourglass, wondered to see if Oshus had been telling the truth. The sand was back in one chamber, and the timer showed _10:00_ before disappearing. Link tucked the Hourglass and charts back into his pocket, and he and Ciela set off for Linebeck's ship.


	10. Cannon Island and Eddo

_Okay, after a period of about... six months? ...Oops? Well, after... THAT amount of time, I've returned. So I'll be honest, life's getting pretty busy, and writing has shifted from a first priority to a 'whenever I find time here and there' sort of thing. But my life is getting managable, so my updates should be more regular now. I'm REALLY sorry to everyone who's had to wait for this chapter. I know it isn't nowhere near the length it should be for the period of time I've missed, but y'know. Baby steps. It really only took about an hour to write this. Why did it take six months to write for only an hour, you may ask? Ah, say I. I have no idea. But I'm proud to say that PH has over 1000 hits! Granted, that happend not long after my last chapter, so it's grown substantially since then, but I felt it was special, and I wanted to tell you. Okay, enough of my ranting, you want to read. So here it is, enjoy, and review so I know you're not dead!_

**_Chapter 10: Cannon Island and Eddo_**

As they approached the ship, Linebeck walked forward to meet them.

"So kid? What'd you get this time?" he asked as he examined the pair, looking for any injuries.

"Just a Sea Chart," Link told him, pulling it out and showing it to him. He examined it for a few seconds, and thrust it back to Link. "It's filthy, you can't read anything on it! Clean it up."

Link looked at the chart and took a deep breath. He then blew hard across the chart, and a swirl of dust rose up off of it. He glanced down again and gasped.

What he hadn't seen before was now visible: A strange blue symbol, similar to the symbol he had seen on the other chart. It was like the symbol on Nayru's Pearl from his previous adventure. It was on an island in the middle of the Northwestern Sea. Link showed this to the other two. "This is where we need to go next."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let's get a move on!" Linebeck said, turning and marching onto his boat. The other two followed, and the ship soon moved out toward the sea.

In no time at all, it seemed, they were at the northern tip of the southwestern map. Link was up at the bow, scanning the sea and feeling excited, when the sky suddenly darkened.

Out of nowhere, the wind picked up. It was so strong that Link was nearly thrown over the railing. Gripping it tightly, he looked up and gasped.

A tornado, a _huge_ tornado, was coming at them, and there was no time to avoid it. Link had barely registered what was about to happen when the tornado picked the boat up and flung it out, with a screaming Link on the deck the entire way down.

It was several minutes later when Link felt safe enough to stand. The door burst open and Linebeck and Ciela came running out onto the deck. Linebeck looked shaken.

"That was huge! _Huge!_ I've never seen a tornado that big before! Are you alright kid?" he added, seeing Link getting shakily to his feet.

Link put a hand to his mouth, and he turned green. A second later, he ran to the edge of the boat and gagged. Ciela and Linebeck heard splashes as something hit the water, both looking repulsed.

"That… That was disgusting," Ciela noted as Link hobbled back towards them. "At least my stomach feels better," he replied slowly, still looking sick.

"Anyways," Linebeck said, "that tornado threw us back south. I don't think that was a coincidence that it appeared. I doubt we'll be able to pass by that way."

"Then we're stuck?" Link asked in horror, his eyes widening. Linebeck grinned.

"Stuck? Of course not! Get your charts out," he told Link, who obeyed. Linebeck spread them out on the deck.

"Now, we're about here," he said, pointing at the middle of the southwestern chart. "We can't pass by this way," he added, indicating at the top of the map. "So we just have to go around it. We'll pass to the other side of these rocks and go up that way!" As he said it, he directed at a string of large boulders that went from the bottom of the south chart to about halfway up the northern chart. The boulders were on the west side of the charts, with a couple of islands west of them on the southern map, and a handful of individual boulders west of them on the northern map. Ciela looked sceptical.

"And how are we going to get over there?" She asked with a questioning look. "Easy," Linebeck replied, "We just blast our way through!"

He pointed to a small island on the map, southwest a little ways of where they were. "This is Cannon Island. All we have to do is get a cannon and we'll be on our way!"

* * *

An hour later, the trio found themselves docking at Cannon Island. As they stepped off of the dock, they saw a building immediately east of them. Link quickly ran towards it, with Ciela and Linebeck close behind.

Inside, a large man stood next to a closed door with his arms crossed. As Link approached, he fixed his eyes and spoke, "I am the apprentice to Master Eddo. My Master is currently locked shut in his workshop, working on his newest invention. There is another door on the other side of this building that leads to his workshop, but please do not disturb him."

Link just face palmed, muttering under his breath. Linebeck quickly asked, "How long do you think it'll take for Eddo to finish his project?"

"Master Eddo has been in his workshop for quite some time, so I think he is nearly fin-" The apprentice was cut off by a large explosion coming from the next room. A large thump, sounding suspiciously like a body hitting a wall after being thrown from the force of an exploding bomb, was heard shortly after. A weak "Ow…" was heard through the closed door.

"Er… never mind. About seven or eight hours. Need me to get the fire extinguisher again Master?" the apprentice called to the door. A strange gurgling was heard in response.

"Okay then," the apprentice called back. He turned towards the three again.

"If you wish, you may see the Master now while he gathers his materials and his bearings to restart his project. There is a path leading around this island that should lead to his workshop door."

Link thanked the apprentice, and the three exited the building. As they adjusted their eyes to the sunlight, Link eyed a fence attached to the building that separated two doors. A smile formed on his lips.

"What's up Link? Ciela asked, glancing at him. Link didn't answer, still staring at the fence, and the door on the other side of it.

"D'you think that's Eddo's workshop door?" Linebeck asked, walking towards the fence. Link only nodded.

Said Ciela, "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's find this path and go get to it!"

"I'm not going to follow a path around the whole stupid island just to get to a door that's right in front of us!" Link exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. Linebeck only frowned. "So then what do we do?"

Link only smiled, and ran towards the fence. As he approached it, he leaped and soared right over it, and walked inside the building, this time into Eddo's workshop. Linebeck and Ciela only stared.

"Is… is he allowed to skip stuff like that in this game?" Linebeck asked. Ciela blinked. "I didn't think so, but it isn't the first time he's cheated…"

Meanwhile, Link had taken a good look around at the workshop. A short man was sitting at a bench, working while humming to himself. There were pieces of metal and wood lying all over the floor, and the man's clothes were scorched black in some places. Link cleared his throat.

The man wheeled around in his chair and stood up. "Yes, my name is Eddo! How can I help you young man?" he asked Link.

"I'm Link, and I need something of yours to help me on my journey," the green-clad hero replied. Eddo's eyes widened.

"No! You can't have my stuffed animal collection! It's taken me years to collect them all, and I just finally finished my collection last month! Do you know how hard it is to find a fuzzy iguana? DO YOU?" Eddo practically shouted in Link's face, his eye twitching.

"Uh, all I wanted was your cannon to blow up some rocks…" Link replied slowly, wiping some saliva off of his face. Eddo started at Link.

"Oh! Right, of course what's why you've come. Well, I can't just hand it over to you now, can I? No, I'll tell you what: you scream as loud as you can, and I'll base the price of my cannon on that. Ready, go!"

Link just blinked a couple of times while trying to understand what Eddo was asking, then shrugged and took a deep breath.

* * *

_The Isle of Ruins, on the other side of the Great Sea…_

King Mutoh jumped suddenly, as a piercing sound came through the air. A few seconds later, Max, the first knight, came flying into Mutoh's tomb. "King Mutoh! What in Nayru's name is that racket?"

"I'm not sure Max. A great disturbance… Either that, or Bremeur ate another burrito, and he's trying to get rid of it…"

Max only sighed. "Seriously, I don't even know why he eats those stupid things!"

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Linebeck and Ciela just stood there, listening to the powerful ringing in their eardrums.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Ciela yelled.

Linebeck looked at her. "WHAT?"

"WHAT?"

"WHAT?"

Inside the workshop, Eddo was rolling around on the floor hanging onto his ears as if they were bleeding. Link just stood there, watching the scene and smirking slightly. Ten minutes later, Eddo finally stood up.

"Y'KNOW WHAT? JUST TAKE THE CANNON! I'VE ALREADY ATTACHED IT TO YOUR SHIP BY THE DOCK!" Eddo shouted. Link simply shrugged, and with a wave he walked out the other door that led to the front of the building.

Once out of the workshop, Link saw the apprentice slumped against the wall while holding his head. Link just shrugged again and walked out, thinking he hadn't screamed _that_ loudly.

Outside, Link saw Ciela and Linebeck shouting at each other, trying to make themselves heard. As he approached them, they both turned to look at him.

"Hey guys, I got the cannon, so we're good to go," Link told them. They both responded with a synchronized, "WHAT?"

Link rolled his eyes and pointed to the ship. The other two just stared at him blankly, so Link sighed and grabbed Ciela and Linebeck's elbow, guiding them back towards the ship to prepare for their next destination.


	11. Molida Island

_Alright, here's chapter 11 of PH! Yes, they still haven't moved on with their quest. No, this is not a filler chapter just to get something out. This ACTUALLY HAPPENS in the game. Why? I have no idea. Seems like a waste of time to me. I actually skipped a fair bit too, just because it was so tedious and dull. I apologize for the chapter being considerably shorter than usual, it's just that I can't really do alot here without going into the next part of the story. But chapter 12 will get back on track, and the right length. Possibly longer, actually; I do owe you guys for making you wait so long. And last thing: review, guys. I want your opinions on how I'm doing, or how I could improve, or how much you love the story, or anything! Just review, it's not enough to just see how many hits the story's getting. Review and give me your thoughts! That said, I'll let you guys read on, and I promise that I'll get another chapter out soon, what with school coming to an end for the holidays. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!_

**_Chapter 11: Molida Island_**

Linebeck sailed the ship back along the coast of boulders until he reached a set of rocks that looked weaker than the others, and stopped.

"Alright kid, pull up the cannon!" he called to Link, who was standing on the deck. Link brought the cannon up and, smiling to himself, took aim. He then fired. The rocks blew apart as the bomb hit, and the pieces fell into the ocean. Link cheered as Linebeck punched the ship forward. Once across the barricade, they set sail for the north. After a few minutes, they reached the southern tip of the northwestern map. The barricade stretched on to the right of them for a bit, eventually coming to an end. Several rocks were scattered around haphazardly in front of them, which Link thought to be stupid planning on whoever designed this ocean. Linebeck started forward, but almost immediately a think fog settled around them. Link cold barely see past the bow, wondering how they could possibly navigate blind, when out of nowhere the Ghost Ship appeared. Link yelled in shock as it sailed right by them with surprising speed, and there was suddenly a bright light. When it faded, Link looked around and could not believe his eyes. They were back south quite a ways, the clearing they'd made in the rock formation level with them to the east. The cabin door flew open and Linebeck came running out. He took a look at where they were and swore loudly. "Are you _serious?_ Is there no way to get through those damn blocks? Can't go that way-" he pointed to the other side of the rock structure- "or we get thrown by a giant tornado! Can't go _this_ way-" he directed north- "or we get lost in a fog and sent back here!"

Link sighed. "There has to be _some_ way through. We just need a clue."

Ciela nodded. "There's an island just south of us, see it? Why don't we go there and ask around for a way through?"

Linebeck said nothing, still fuming. He turned and walked back to the cabin, slamming the door behind him. A few seconds later, they heard the engine start up. The ship turned around, and set sail for the new island.

* * *

_A few minutes later…_

Link stepped onto the dock and looked around. The island was called Molida Island, and it was a fairly populated place. He didn't know where to start looking for a clue around one of their current barricades, until Ciela suggested to start asking random people. Link thought for a moment, but after coming up with no alternative plan, shrugged and approached the nearest woman, question ready on his tongue.

* * *

_Half an hour later…_

Link sighed, defeated. "How can no one know anything here? I've asked everyone on this island, and we're still where we started!"

"You haven't asked everyone, you've only talked to like half the island! I mean, you spent the last 25 minutes asking the same guy! You only stopped because he fell asleep and collapsed!" Ciela exclaimed.

"Yeah, Ciela, you can't sleep standing up," Link replied, rolling his eyes at the fairy's ignorance. Ciela was about to object, but kept her mouth shut, hoping Link would enjoy his moment of ignorant stupidity. Link sighed again, rubbing his eyes. "Man, this is tiring. How 'bout a nap and we check with the other people later?"

"Link, you can't just-" But Link was already sitting himself at the base of a tree. He was just getting comfortable when he suddenly dropped through a hole into the ground. Ciela just stared for a moment before laughing hysterically. After she finished, she decided she should see where Link ended up and flew down into the hole.

She had flown through the roof of a cave, with Link on the ground below her. She looked up and saw that someone had made the hole long ago, and covered it up. Link's weight must have sent him down through the coverings and into the cave. She flew down to his face to discover he had either been hit unconscious from the fall or had just fallen asleep immediately afterwards. Ciela sighed, then looked around the cave. It was actually designed like a room, with a table and chair against a wall, a picture hanging on the wall beside it, and several bookcases. Ciela flew to a bookcase, grabbed a book, and hurled it at Link. It collided with his stomach and he shot up, immediately awake. He looked around, confused, before getting up and turning to Ciela.

"Why'd you wake me up? I was having a good nap," he pouted, crossing his arms. Ciela only shook her head. "Since we found a mysterious cave, why not check it out? Maybe there's a clue in here."

They set out to work, looking around the cave for anything that would help them get around the fog or the tornado. Link walked up to the picture and gasped. It was a map of the northwestern sea, but it had an arrow going through the scattered rocks! _So there's a certain path to get through the fog! This is it! _Link thought excitedly. He ten noticed a book open on the desk next to him. He picked it up and looked at it: _The Seafarer's Journal_. He flipped it to the page it was open to and began read: _By finding my secret hideout, I shall allow you my secretiest secret. In my many adventures, I have visited many lands and seen many things. However, the trippiest thing BY FAR is the 'Lost Fog' (my own name, I'm so clever!)! If you try and sail through it, you will end up at the beginning! And possibly encounter the legendary Ship of Ghosts. However, I've discovered that there's a path to get through this mysterious fog! I shown it on the map hanging on the wall next to this journal, so DON'T MOVE EITHER ONE! It only works if both the journal and the map are TOGETHER, got it? Anyway, just sail the path that the arrow shows and you will find yourself past the 'Lost Fog' (Eeeeee! I'm so smart!), and you shall discover the islands on the other side! 'Cause there's no other way to reach them, y'know. Well, you could go straight north from the centre of the Southwestern Sea, but last I heard there was this HUGE tornado blocking the way. So yeah, that wouldn't work. You could try, I suppose, but I don't think it would work very well. Especially since physics says that the tornado would rip the boat to pieces and then hurl the pieces out into the sea (Listen to me talk about physics in this day and age!). But I must go; I am old and quite possibly senile, and I wish to settle down from my years of exploring, and there's a nice deserted island past the fog! I'm going to claim it before someone else happens to. I heard there is rumoured to be mermaids on that island! Can you imagine, real mermaids? Well, I guess you could, since they're like people and fish together. But that's like a Zora too! Weird! Wait, what's a Zora?_

_-The Traveling Seafarer_

"Sweet! We have a way to get through that ghost fog!" Link cheered, pumping a fist. He copied the path onto his own Sea Chart, then found an opening in the wall and ran out, following the path until it ended at a high ledge to another cave beneath. Link jumped down and found himself in an open room. He looked around and found an entrance to the cave. He ran out and discovered he was on the far east side of the island, not far from where he had fallen through the hole. He ran towards the dock, Ciela tailing closely, and quickly filled Linebeck in on what had happened.

"Finally! Alright you two, let's head out!" he cried, running onto the ship to get it started. Soon, they were sailing north towards the rock maze. A few minutes later they had reached it, and the thick fog had settled. Link pulled out his Sea Chart and directed Linebeck around, going through and around and every other which way until they ended up on the other side of the maze, facing east. Link couldn't believe it. They were finally moving ahead in their journey! There were a few islands in sight in front of them, and Link looked at his Chart again. He found the island with the blue symbol on it, called the Isle of Gust, and Linebeck set sail for it. Soon, they would finish whatever it was they had to do there, and be one step closer to rescuing Tetra!


	12. Gusts and Winds

_Okay, here's your next chapter! Sorry it took so long, I recently bought Spirit Tracks, and it is just epic! I highly recommend it to any fan of Zelda! I enjoyed it so much that I got an idea for a Spirit Tracks oneshot! Expect to see it in the very near future! I have to say, I just about died writing this; I haven't found one of my chapters so funny when writing it in a long time. And it's actual plot development! The _'s_quirrel inspiration' was a reference to The Tacochickenwings' story, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, from which this story borrows a lot of inspiration. Give it a read, it is the absolute funniest story ever created. Be warned though, it's rated M for a reason. Seriously though, that story was what made me start this. The sequal to her story isn't Phantom Hourglass, so I took it upon myself to create a Phantom Hourglass parody story. Okay, enough free advertising. I hope you enjoy this chapter, because it was just so much fun to write! Anyway, review and let me know what you think of it! _

**_Chapter 12: Gusts and Winds_**

Linebeck docked at the isle of Gust, and Link jumped onto the dock and looked around. The entire island had all sorts of levels, and the entire northern part of the island was covered in sand, with windmills sitting in the sand here and there. A strong gust was periodically blowing from the east, which almost blew Link right back onto the ship. All in all, the Isle looked less that inviting, in Link's opinion.

Linebeck walked onto the dock and faced Link. "Alright kid," he said, "You go scout around and see if you can find what we need, as usual. I'll stay here and chill out, as usual."

Ciela flew up to Linebeck's face. "Y'know, you _could_ come with us for once, instead of just sitting around all day like the lazy bum you are."

"Who said I was going to just sit around? We have a cannon now, right? I was going to clean it up," Linebeck replied, crossing his fingers behind his back.

Ciela rolled her eyes and sighed. "Whatever you say," she told him, then turned to Link. "C'mon, Link, let's go find whatever it is we need to find." Link nodded, not looking forward to what was to come.

They ran of the dock onto the island, and fought against the wind as it blew them back. They eventually reached the other side of the island, where some stairs led up to another level and swung around so they were facing west. Before them was a gap Link knew he couldn't jump. The wind suddenly picked up once more and Link, not expecting it, was caught off-guard and thrown over the gap to the other side. Link stood up, pretended like no one saw, and kept going. Some chuchus leapt out of the ground, which he proceeded to kill. He then ran into a cave, fought some more enemies, came out of the cave, fought some _more_ enemies, and ran north until he eventually came to a passage with a block in the middle.

Past the block was an open doorway leading into the island, Link guessed, while four statues on either side of the doorway were blowing strong wind at Link. The gusts were blowing past the block, but Link noticed that on the northern side of the block, a straight line from the doorway, no wind was blowing. However, when he tried to get to the other side, the winds simply pushed him back. He had to figure out a way to get the wind to stop before he could move on. It was then when he noticed a sign and a picture hanging on the block. The picture was a map of the island with an 'X' at the most northwestern point. The sign read, "The temple entrance stops gusting only when windmills have had their fill."

Link backtracked south a bit until he found a new way north. It was a different sort of sand here; it was loose and wavy. As soon as Link set foot on this sand, something erupted nearby. Suddenly, something raced towards Link under the sand. Link yelled and ran away from it, eventually running up on a pedestal with a windmill on it. The creature disappeared once it hit the pedestal. Link paused to catch his breath, and looked around. There were eight windmills scattered around in the sand, as well as some explosive-looking plants, which were called bombflowers. Link thought for a second, then stepped off the pedestal carefully, plucked a bombflower, and chucked it at the sand. For a moment nothing happened. Then the sand around the bomb exploded as a worm-looking creature arose and swallowed the bomb whole. A couple of second later the creature exploded. Link smirked, for he knew what he had to do.

He slowly made his way to the northwestern corner of the island, blowing up sand creatures with bombflowers along the way. When he finally arrived, he found another picture waiting for him. It was another map of the island, but this time three of the windmill locations were marked with a symbol of wind blowing. Thinking this was probably significant, Link backtracked back to the sandpit and approached the first windmill that was marked. He stared at it for a couple of seconds before he clued in that he should probably dosomething. So he blew at it, and it started to rotate. Link ran to the other two windmills and got them rotating as well. A chime sounded, and the winds on either side of the doorway stopped blowing.

Link made his way around back to the block. The doorway was now open! He could move on! He could vanquish whatever demons lay through the doorway! He'd be one step closer to freeing Tetra! He-

"Snap out of it, stupid," Ciela said, hitting Link over the head and bringing him back to reality. Link rubbed his now-sore head, glared at Ciela, and walked through the doorway, the fairy following.

They found themselves inside a temple, similarly designed to the Temple of Fire, only with gusts of wind everywhere instead of lava. This, ladies and gentlemen, was the Temple of Wind, the windiest place in the Great Sea (besides possibly the Wind Temple from Wind Waker, duh). Link took a look at the temple, noting that he was in what looked like the main room, and groaned. "This is gonna suck! I don't want to go through an entire temple!"

As if in response to his whining, a glowing blue light appeared on the ground in front of them. Ciela's mouth hung open. "What? But- That wouldn't- How did-" Link cut her off. "Hey! Gift horse! Mouth! Shut up!" With that, he stepped into the light and disappeared. Ciela, still in disbelief over what had just happened, just floated into the light after him.

They reappeared in a small room, with a set of stairs leading down behind them and another leading up in front of them. Link looked at the two, shrugged, and ran up the stairs in front of him. When he reached the top, he found himself outside on a wide circular slab. As soon as he stepped away from the stairs, a cement covering slid across it, trapping him there. Link walked to the edge of the slab and looked down. He could see the sea a _long_ way down. He was stuck on the top of this structure. He looked around until he noticed a large tornado descending onto the slab, about twice the size of him. Suddenly a blue creature appeared in the centre of the tornado. It looked like a giant Octorock, except, well, blue. The creature looked down at Link and glared.

"You! What are you doing here in my temple, you foul little boy?" the Octorock-thing shouted at Link. Link swallowed and replied, "Just, y'know, chilling?"

The creature roared. "There shall be NO chilling in my temple! My name is Cyclok, the stirrer or winds! And I shall use my wind-stirring ability to defeat you!"

Link snorted. "Ooh, yeah, some wind is gonna hurt me. Goddesses, I'm sure scared now!"

Cyclok glared at Link. "You should be, you arrogant idiot! All I have to do is blow you off the edge of this tower and you'll fall to your death! Hitting water at the speed you would is like hitting concrete! You'd be totally crushed! And, you cheating midget, you completely skipped through the temple, so you didn't even pick up the bomb bag you needed to kill me!"

Link paled. It was now he realized that he was in serious trouble. So for lack of anything better to do, he took out his boomerang and hurled it at Cyclok. The boss was not expecting this, and it made contact between his eyes. Something fell from him, which Link ran to and picked up. It was a bomb bag, with a plentiful number of bombs inside.

"Oh, I'M the cheater?? You had the bomb bag the whole time! Even if I HAD gone through the temple, I wouldn't have found it anyway!" Link shouted at the octopus. He pulled out a bomb and threw it at Cyclok. However, the boss was not to be caught off-guard again, and quickly blew it away with his wind. "Ha! Good luck hitting me with those, even if you do have them!"

Link glared at him, and then had the second inspiration of his life. The first involved his sister, Aryll, and squirrels, way back on Outset Island when he was younger. It wasn't so much an inspiration though, more than a really stupid idea. And man, was Grandma yelling at him afterwards.

This inspiration however was different, if not completely screaming pyromaniac. Link ran all over the place laying bombs so that every square inch was covered at the same time. Cyclok simply looked at the vast number, his eyes widening. "Oh balls."

They all exploded, causing a chain reaction. When the smoke cleared, Link saw no sign of Cyclok, minus a black blast spot on the ground. Suddenly a glowing light appeared from above and a blue ball descended towards Link. When it was eye level with him it unfurled its wings, revealing a fairy.

"You did it, you did it!" the fairy cheered in a very girly voice, flying around Link's head so fast he couldn't keep up with it. "I was all sad that I'd been captured and then I was hoping someone would save me and I was all like "Please please please please please please someone save me" and then here you are and you defeated Cyclok and then next thing I knew I was free and you saved me and then I was telling you about it and then-" Link cut the fairy off by managing to grab her as she zoomed around his head yet again. "Please, just tell me your name. That's ALL I need."

"Oh yeah, sure thing, my name's Neri! I'm the Spirit of Wisdom! You need to save my friends as well, Leaf and-" Neri was cut off again as Link reached into his pocket and pulled out Leaf.

"Ack! Dude, _please_, don't put me back in there! I can't take it any- Hey, Neri!" Leaf cheered, flying up to his companion. "Leaf!" Neri cried out. They flew around each other, circling Link's head and laughing. "Hey, why the joyous reunion?" Link asked the pair as they flew by.

"Well, we've been imprisoned for a LONG time, man," Leaf told him. "We haven't seen each other in ages! And we always hung out together and stuff, y'know? Oh, so that reminds me, there's still a third one of us you need to find."

Said Neri, "Once you free the third, we can use our powers to locate the Ghost Ship for you!"

"That'd be great! Then I'm one step closer to rescuing Tet- Wait a minute, how'd you know I was looking for the Ghost Ship?" Link asked warily.

"Using my freaky mind-reading powers of course," Neri replied casually. "I'm a spirit, remember?" Link turned to Leaf. "Can you do that too?"

"Pfft, yeah, I just choose not to. Life's no fun if you know what's coming," Leaf told him. "That, and I have no idea what's going on half the time."

Link rolled his eyes. "Anyway, based on common sense I seem to have that clicks in every once in awhile, like now, repetition is telling me to head back to Mercay Island to go back to the Temple of the Ocean King. So back into the pocket with you two," he said, opening his pocket.

Leaf literally went two shades pinker (I guess that's how a red fairy pales), and was about to fly up out of Link's reach when he grabbed him. "NO!! NOT THE POCKET!! PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU!" Link only rolled his eyes. "Oh, stop whining and get in."

"NO! I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS, DUDE! LET'S SEE _YOU_ GO IN HERE FOR-" With that, Leaf was in the pocket. Neri just stared. Link looked at her and nodded to his pocket. "Your turn."

"Uh, I don't think I want to…" Neri said slowly. Before she could say anything else, Link snatched her up as well. He did his pose while the weird 'BA-DA-DA-DAAAAAAAAA!' played, and put her down his pocket. With that, another glowing blue light appeared in front of him. He and Ciela walked into it, and were spirited back to the entrance of the temple.

* * *

As Link and Ciela were returning from the temple, Linebeck was sitting in a beach chair, watching them through a pair of binoculars that shouldn't have been invented yet. As they approached, Linebeck threw the chair and binoculars into the cabin, brought the cannon up and started scrubbing it. When the pair reached the ship, Ciela just stared at Linebeck. "Oh, you've got to be kidding."

"What? I told you I was cleaning the cannon. There's no need to be surprised," Linebeck told her, tossing his rag over his shoulder. Ciela just stared at Linebeck flatly.

"You honestly expect us to believe you were actually working? Do we _look_ like- Y'know what? Scratch that. Do _I_ look like an idiot?"

"…Just shut up, Sparkles! Did you find what we needed kid?" Linebeck asked, turning to Link, who nodded. "Yeah, we're good to go. Set a course for Mercay Island!"

"Aye aye, captain!" Linebeck replied. He then shoved Link over the railing into the water. "And I'LL be the captain if you don't mind, shortie, so I'LL give the orders. It is _my_ ship after all, is it not?"

Link pulled himself onto the deck, dripping wet. "Fine, you're the captain. No more bossing you around," Link grumbled. As Linebeck smirked and walked back below deck to chart their course, Link sighed. He missed being on Tetra's ship, having special rights because he was the captain's best friend. Not that the other crew members cared anyway. As far as they were concerned, they would rather do all the work rather than listen to a twelve year old girl gripe about her problems, like Link had to. But Link never cared. It was sort of fun, getting to know a side of Tetra no one else knew… As the ship started to move, Link stood up and walked over to the bow. As he looked out, he thought of the Ghost Ship, and of how he was one spirit away from finding it. _Hang on, Tetra. I'm coming._


	13. Cheats and Comforts

_Wow, an update! You guys probably think I'm dead or something... Regardless, here's chapter 13! Funny thing, I had most of this written on Monday, but certain things kept coming up, preventing me from actually finishing it. So, here it is, two days later than I anticipated. By the way, those treasure chests in PH: you pull them up from the sea, swing them around a bit, and then the lid opens so easily! And it didn't open when it was being hauled up because...? Whatever, it's a video game, physics doesn't apply there. Anyway, this chapter shows a fair bit of progress in both the story and character development. Or at least I think so for the latter. Maybe not. Ah well. And I finally found a way to get rid of the deus ex machina! Turns out it was actually pretty easy. Regardless, no more (major) cheating for Link. At least not intentional cheating. Okay, enough prattling on. Enjoy the chapter!_

_**Chapter 13: Cheats and Comforts**_

As the trio approached Mercay about a half hour later, Link was feeling anxious. He was getting quite close to finding the Ghost Ship, and now he wanted to find it as fast as possible. As soon as the _S.S. Linebeck _had docked, Link jumped off the ship and ran the entire way to the temple. Ciela just sighed at seeing this and slowly flew after him, debating whether or not to push him in front of a Phantom.

As she caught up to him, he was checking the Hourglass. They both noticed that it had significantly more sand in it than before. _Cyclok's death must have added more sand, _Link realized. The timer flipped up and read _12:00_ as they entered the temple. When they were in the first safe zone, Link braced himself. _Time to begin._

As Link began going through the routine for each floor, he started thinking. Each visit to the temple thus far had taken him lower and lower into the temple itself. On the last trek, they had gone as low as the third floor. But Link remembered seeing a stone door with a mark on it, like the one Leaf had opened for him. Seeing as this dungeon was big on repeating itself, Link figured that Neri could open this new door.

Soon, Link was back on the third floor, facing the as-of-yet unopened door. He noted the symbol that matched the one on his Sea Chart for Neri's location, and reached into his pocket for the fairy. She came out, coughing and spitting.

"What is _with_ that pocket of yours? That is the gateway to eternal torment!" Neri cried, trying to fly away. Link grabbed her and shoved her toward the door. "Look, I'm sort of in a rush, so can you just make with the fairy magic, please?"

Neri stared at the door and gave a really girly laugh. "Oh, sure, _sure_, that'll be a piece of cake, I've got this!" Neri began to glow a bright blue as she rose in front of the door, and with a bright flash, the stone parted. Link cheered, stuffed Neri back in his pocket with a quick thanks, ignored her screams and protests, and ran through the new opening.

The passageway led to a floor lower in the temple, and Link quickly figured out what to do to advance. The only thing new was a sort of multi-eyed blob that floated with a propeller under it called a Phantom Eye, which quickly fell under Link's blade. Otherwise, the floor was basically like the ones the hero had already cleared, and he proceeded relatively quickly.

The next two floors were more or less the same, and finally at the end of the third new floor Link stood before a red door. The room had several signs in it but Link, being the lazy person he was, just skipped them all and ran to the door. He noticed an inscription above the door: _Trace here the sacred mark. Or, uh, or else. Or else you can't advance. So ha._ Link stared at the words for a moment before randomly tracing an hourglass on the door as he thought about what the 'sacred mark' might be. Suddenly, the door began to glow and opened, as Link just stared blankly at the new passage available to him. "Score another one for screwing around and doing the right thing," he smirked as he walked arrogantly through the new doorway.

A short walk later, Link saw that he was in a small room with a chart lying on a pedestal. He was about to run forward and take it when two things ran through his mind: 1) What if it was like Indiana Jones and something crazy happened when he took it, and 2) Where had Ciela gone?

Link blinked and looked behind him into the room beyond, trying to spot a glowing ball. He hadn't even noticed that she hadn't said a word in nine minutes, according to the Hourglass. He was about to call out when a voice said, "I'm right here, moron."

Link spun around to see Ciela hovering over the chart. As he walked over to her, he asked, "When did you get here? I never saw you fly past me when I opened the door. Or any other time since we've been here."

Ciela rolled her eyes. "I figured I'd try going on ahead of you and seeing how far I could get before I got stuck. I get bored watching you run in circles and pretending you're a ninja, you know. So I got to the Wisdom Door, and once you opened it, I waited until you were distracted and then kept going, until I made it all the way here. Any idiot could figure out that the sacred mark is an hourglass, since that's the main treasure of this temple!"

Link just stared at her for a moment, before finally saying, "You beat me here? But I have the Hourglass! You sort of need it to not get the life sucked out of you!"

"I guess that life-sucking rule only applies to humans," Ciela replied with a shrug. "Or elves," she added, smirking at Link. The latter glared at her. "I am _not_ an elf!"

"Oh please, you wear green and have pointy ears, you're totally an elf, don't hide it from me anymore," Ciela said, still grinning. Link was fuming.

"I wear green because I just do! Or because that's what the Hero of Time wore. Not sure why, but it's tradition or something like that. And my pointy ears are because I'm a Hylian! The ancient race of Hyrule!" he shouted.

"Hyrule. Never heard of it," Ciela replied. Link put on a smug look and replied, "Well, yeah, it's buried and now flooded at the bottom of the Great Sea."

"So you're a descendant of a race whose land drowned. You know, that makes _so_ much sense," Ciela muttered as she turned away. Link's smug expression fell off of his face, as his slow brain finally registered the insult. Before he could say anything though, Ciela said, "Look, just grab the chart, will you? I'm getting sick of all this exposition." Link just frowned and grabbed the chart. As he looked at it though, he realized something was wrong.

"Wait, this looks familiar," Link said quietly. As he studied the chart, he realized that it was the Southwestern Chart, but mirrored. However, this chart had a mark on it: a green mark like the one on Farore's Pearl from his last adventure. _Okay, I think I'm figuring this out, _he thought. However, there was still the matter of marking that spot on his Sea Chart. Suddenly, Link got an idea. He placed his chart of the Southwestern Sea face-up on the pedestal, and then placed the new chart overtop of it, face-down. Then he shoved them together, and peeled them apart, and, like he'd hoped, the mark had transferred over to his map. Setting the mirrored chart back on the pedestal, Link turned to Ciela with a big smile on his face. "We're getting close to finishing," he said. "One more stop, one more fairy, and then we'll have the Ghost Ship!"

As a blue spot appeared on the ground, the pair stepped into it and was taken back to the temple's entrance. Once they were outside again, Link stretched and then ran for the ship, Ciela close behind him. As they approached it, they saw Linebeck talking to one of the villagers. Seeing the hero and fairy, Linebeck dismissed the person he was talking to and walked over to them. "So, you got the next location, kid?"

Link smiled and brandished the Sea Chart, and said as he opened it, "You bet! And the next temple is…" He trailed off as he realized just where the spot was marking. Linebeck looked over the boy's shoulder and was equally puzzled. "It's… in the middle of the ocean?"

The green mark was over a spot of sea, nowhere near any island. The trio stared at the map for a few seconds before Linebeck snapped his fingers. "I bet that isn't where the temple is, but where something is lying that's needed for the temple. Something on the ocean floor." Link looked miserable. "On the ocean floor? How are we supposed to get that?"

Linebeck smiled, which made Link curious. "As is so happens, while you two were away, I went to see Eddo, since… Well, I was just bored. Anyway, as it turns out, he's come up with a new product, a Salvage Arm. It lets you pull things up from the bottom of the ocean. By the sounds of it, it's just what we need!" Link's spirits rose. "So all we need to do is go get this thing!"

"Actually, I already got it. We can head out for that spot," Linebeck told them, nodding to the Sea Chart in Link's hands. "Wait, you actually bought something?" Ciela asked, amazed. Linebeck blinked. "Oh, yeah, I bought it, that's right," he said, avoiding the fairy's eyes and whistling innocently. Ciela facepalmed. "Let's just head for that spot," she said as they all walked onto the ship.

* * *

Later, the ship arrived at the spot indicated on the Sea Chart. Linebeck killed the engines walked out onto the deck. "Okay kid, let's grab some... whatever it is! Pull up the Salvage Arm!" he called, as Link obeyed and hoisted the claw up from the ship's belly. Once it was set up, Link turned to the captain and asked, "So how does it work?"

Linebeck was about to answer when he stopped and realized that stealing something was without the benefit of learning anything about it. Glancing at the Arm, he shrugged and replied, "How hard could it be to figure out? Just drop the claw and we'll play it by ear from there."

Link shrugged and threw the switch, and the claw dropped into the sea and fell fast. They all waited a few moments until a muffled 'wham' was heard, and then stopped the claw's descent. Linebeck peered over the railing. "I think we hit the bottom. Either that or a bomb," he said. Link snorted. "Yeah right, bombs just floating around in the ocean? Whoever heard of something as ridiculous as that?" Linebeck smiled slightly. "Yeah, that is pretty stupid." Ciela looked over the railing next to Linebeck and laughed. "No one would be dumb enough to do that," she added confidently. Turning to Linebeck, she added, "So now what?"

Linebeck shrugged and called to Link, "Anything else on that machine, kid?" Link studied the Salvage Arm briefly before finding a button marked 'Grab'. "There's a button here marked 'Grab'," he said helpfully, and hit it.

A whirring sound could be faintly heard, and then metal scraping on metal. The trio looked at each other and quickly hit the switch to bring the claw back up. All three were watching the line with anticipation to see what had been caught, when finally the claw broke the surface, a treasure chest in its grasp. Linebeck cheered and hugged the Salvage Arm. "I love this treasure-finding machine," he said happily, tears rolling down his face. As he did that, Link dropped the chest onto the deck, and he and Ciela approached it.

Link took out his sword and started to pry the lid open before discovering that it opened quite easily. Deciding that this was just about the stupidest thing he'd ever encountered, he sheathed his sword before just throwing the lid open. Inside, glowing in a bright light was...

...Pretty anticlimactic in Link's opinion. It was just a key. Granted, it was a pretty nicely decorated key, with the design of the sun on the end, but still just a key. Link facepalmed. "Well, that's perfect. We have a key, and we don't know what it's for!" Ciela fluttered around the hero's head. "We could just wander aimlessly around the world, searching in vain for one lock that this key might possibly fit in," she suggested. Link shook his head. "No, we're too close to finding Tetra to waste that much time now. Maybe before finding the first spirit, but not now." He sighed. "Screw it, time to consult my old friend."

As Linebeck came back over to see what it was they'd recovered, Link pulled out his copy of the storyline from his pocket. As he began flipping through the pages, Linebeck looked from the key in the chest to Link, and asked, "Is he cheating again?"

Said Ciela, "Well, to be fair, this _is_ sort of an emergency. We're kind of stuck, and we just want to figure out where to go next. At least it's a more productive use than opening a door," she added, rolling her eyes. Linebeck just stared at the fairy before shaking his head, and they both turned back to Link.

Said boy had finally reached what he was looking for, and a couple minutes of reading later he looked up with a smile on his face. "We need to go back to Molida Island," he said. "The last temple is there, and apparently the keyhole for this stupid thing," he added, pointing to the key in the chest. Linebeck glanced at the papers in his hand and asked, "Why not just see if you rescue your girlfriend or not? If you don't, then is it even worth all of this trouble?"

"First of all, she's _not_ my girlfriend. Second of all, yes, it would still be worth it. And who cares what this thing says anyway?" he asked, brandishing the storyline over his head. "Even if it said I didn't end up saving Tetra, I'd still try!" he exclaimed. Linebeck turned and looked at the ocean. "Alright, alright," he said, though a faint smile was on his lips.

"And third of all... I suppose a peek couldn't hurt," Link said, looking at the papers in his hand and realizing what he could actually do with all the knowledge they contained. Suddenly though, without warning, a strong wind came and blew the papers right out of the boy's hands. Link's eyes widened as his precious storyline blew over the railing and was carried far away by the wind, faster than he could ever hope to catch.

Link's lower lip quivered and tears began to form in his eyes. Linebeck and Ciela just glanced at each other, and backed away slowly from Link. The boy dropped to the deck and began to sob loudly. "Noooo, my precious storyline! What if I need to use it again? I hadn't even abused its usage yet! It's not fair!" he cried as he rolled around. Linebeck just rolled his eyes and went below deck to take them to Molida.

* * *

Not long after, the _S.S. Linebeck_ was approaching the dock of Molida. Just as they were about to arrive though, a giant sea monster suddenly appeared out the water and began throwing some sort of slime at them. "Kid," Linebeck called from below, "Get to the cannon and start shooting that thing!" Link, however, continued to roll around on the deck, crying his eyes out. Ciela flew over to him and started slapping him across the face. "Get up and kill that thing!" she cried, until Link finally stood up. He pulled up the cannon, took aim, and fired one bomb. The bomb made contact with the creature, and somehow this killed it, as it randomly exploded. Ciela just watched in shock, until Link put the cannon back and sat down again, leaned against the railing, and wiped his puffy red eyes.

Linebeck docked quickly before something else could happen, and jumped off the ship. As Link walked off, Linebeck saw he was still dejected about losing the storyline, so he put a hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "Look kid, you can't go through the last temple moping and depressed. You want to save Tetra, right?" Link nodded. "Well, then buck up and go conquer that temple with your head held high! Go get that last spirit, and then let's go rescue her!" Linebeck exclaimed. Link looked at Linebeck for a moment, then nodded determinedly. "Yeah, let's do it! Come on, Ciela!" Link called as he ran off. Ciela watched him for a moment before turning to Linebeck. "Not bad for a motivational speech," she said, before flying off to catch up to Link. Linebeck smirked, and turned toward his ship. "Now then, let's see just how much fun I can have with this Salvage Arm," he said quietly, a grin forming on his face.

* * *

Ciela caught up to Link just as he jumped down the hole he had fallen through last time. Following him, she asked, "How do you know where the temple is?" Link turned to her and grinned. "I had one of my moments," he replied. Ciela pondered what this could mean for a moment, before coming up with the answer. "You thought to read more than just the temple's location in the storyline," she guessed. Link nodded, "Bingo." The pair followed the path they had taken to leave last time, but stopped when they reached the open room. At the north end of the room was a door with an elaborately-decorated lock. Judging by the sun on the door, Link knew that this was the lock that his key belonged to. As he unlocked it, he wondered aloud, "How did we not see this door last time?" Ciela shrugged. "One-track mind and laziness, I guess," she replied. As the door opened, Link ran through the opening and up the stairs beyond.

They were back outside, and Link could see the temple. However, there was a large gate blocking access to the entrance. "Do you remember reading about that?" Ciela asked. Link nodded. "Yeah, there are three laser-shooting statues or something like that, and we're supposed to point them all at that gate so it'll open."

"Are we going to?" asked the fairy. Link shook his head. "Nah, I had another idea." Drawing a bomb from his bomb bag, he lit it and placed it at the foot of the gate. Then he put four more around it. As he backed away, Ciela watched with amazement as they all exploded, causing the gate to collapse. "Wow, that's some trick."

"See?" Link replied. "I don't have to follow what's written in the storyline. I'm free to change it as I wish." And with that, the pair entered the Temple of Courage.


	14. The Final Spirit

_Yes, I know what you're thinking: "An update four days after the last one?" What can I say, I was inspired. If you notice that the humour is sort of lacking this chapter, it's because the story has reached a critical point, one of those rare moments where some seriousness is needed. But ugh, how many times did I use 'old man' this chapter? Seems like an awful lot, to me. There has got to be a better way to describe the Big O besides 'senior' and 'old man'... Ah well. We're nearing the climax of all the adventuring! Let's hope I don't skip out on the next chapter for another several-month period, huh? Maybe this chapter is a sign that I'm getting faster with my updates... Ah well, fast or not, enjoy the chapter!_

_**Chapter 14: The Final Spirit**_

The duo took a good look around the temple. The overall layout was quite calmer than what Link had expected. There was no fire shooting at him, nor was there any wind trying to blow him into a pit. It seemed like a straight-forward temple. Being the Temple of Courage, it had no theme attached to it that would normally deter the green-clad hero. It was the sort of place that he could actually try and complete fairly.

Of course, that didn't mean that he would. Link scanned the floor and, seeing no boss door, turned his attention to a staircase beside him. Shrugging, he climbed it to the next floor, Ciela following closely. On the new floor, Link grinned. The boss door was dead ahead. Ciela hovered in front of him, taking the surrounding area in. "I see, the boss' entrance is conveniently right by the entrance, but you need to go all over the temple anyway to find the boss key. I wonder if the original architects just tried to frustrate whoever came here," she mused. Link, meanwhile, had approached the door and was examining it intently. After a moment, he drew the Sun Key out of his pocket, with a look of thought on his face. Ciela watched and voiced what she feared he was thinking. "No, Link. It's not going to work, don't even try."

"There can't only be one use for this thing, to unlock _one _door _once_," Link said sceptically, "That'd just be stupid. Besides, I might as well try. The worst that would happen would be that it doesn't work." He faced the door and jammed the key into the lock. Ciela watched for a moment, then turned away and laughed in satisfaction. "I told you it wouldn't work!" she exclaimed, before turning her attention back to Link, who was now shoving and jiggling the key, which appeared to be stuck in the lock. Finally, he just punched it and was about to walk away when, to the surprise of both of them, the door lowered. Link stared for a moment before picking up the key and punching the air in delight while Ciela just gawked at the now open passageway to the boss' chamber. "This just can't get any stupider," she finally muttered as she followed Link up the stairs.

The top of the steps met the pair with a small room with a stone sign off to one side, and more stairs leading up on the other side of the room. Link walked over to the sign and read it out loud. "If you have gotten this far without conventional means, take the temple's treasure now as a reward for your exceptional courage." As he finished, a treasure chest appeared beside the sign, which revealed a bow and a quiver of arrows. Link smirked as he picked up his new tools, while Ciela facepalmed. "Wow, look at that, I was wrong," she said through gritted teeth. The hero simply gave her an I-told-you-so look before they ascended the final staircase.

They walked out onto a large open floor surrounded by walls, as the staircase they just came up was covered by a slab of concrete. Link drew his sword and looked around expectantly, before finally turning to Ciela with a confused expression. "So… Where's the boss?" he asked. Ciela only shrugged when they both heard a loud roar. Link spun around and took up a defensive stance before realizing that they were still alone in the room. Suddenly, Link was struck by something heavy and was sent flying across the room. As he picked himself up, he looked around wildly, but he could not see what had hit him. However, he could now hear sounds of something moving around the room, and scuttling noises every now and then. He took a wild swing to his left, only to make contact with air as he was impacted again from the right.

As Link picked himself up again, he looked around for Ciela before spotting her across the room. "How do I fight something that I can't even see?" he asked frantically. "I don't know, use your new weapon or something! Usually that works!" Ciela called back. Link blinked; he had forgotten all about his bow. Drawing it, he closed his eyes and began to listen for the creature before being hit again. Picking himself up and abandoning that theory, he started shooting arrows blindly around the room. Finally, a shriek was heard, and a large crab-like creature became visible. Judging by its actions and the pain it seemed to be in, Link had gotten it between the eyes. He ran up to it and saw _Crayk_ scratched on the shell. The boy shrugged, and raised his sword. "_Hasta la vista, Crayky_," he said in an Austrian accent, before planting his sword in the crab's head. The creature shrieked again and began to thrash around before exploding in a bright flash of light.

As sand appeared and entered the Phantom Hourglass, Ciela approached Link slowly. "That was just terrible," she told him. He shrugged in reply. "They can't all be winners." When the sand was finished entering the Hourglass, a bright glow appeared from the ceiling. Link looked up and smiled widely. _Finally!_ The ball descended to their level before wings unfurled from it. As the light began to fade, Link stared excitedly at the fairy in front of him before he noticed that something wasn't quite right. And judging from the noise of confusion Ciela made, he wasn't alone in noticing it.

The fairy that was now in front of them was almost lifeless. It just hovered in place, beating its wings occasionally. And unlike Neri and Leaf, who were respectively a solid blue and red, this new fairy was a plain white colour. Link found this to be odd. He had never encountered a fairy looking like _that _before. He turned to his companion. Even Ciela, who also had a white glow, had a faint blue aura around her as well. As for its personality, it had said nothing yet, nor did it respond to the pair's calls. _It's like it _has_ no life in it,_ Link thought. He was at a loss as to what to do now. Ciela, however, had an idea. "Let's go take this fairy to Grandpa, Link. Maybe he'll know something about it," she told him. Link nodded and, taking the fairy into his hands, did his pose while the 'BA-DA-DA-DAAAAAAAAA!' sounded, albeit with an unsure look on his face. The duo then stepped into the blue light that appeared before them.

They reappeared in front of the _S.S. Linebeck_, which Link was thankful for. He hadn't been looking forward to the walk back from the temple. A loud "What the-?" from Ciela however, jarred him from his thoughts. He turned and looked at his fairy companion, only to find that she was staring at the ship. He followed her gaze and felt his jaw drop.

Linebeck was on the deck, sitting atop a rather large pile of rupees and gold. As he noticed the two and threw a big smirk their way, Link finally noticed an even bigger pile of empty treasure chests stacked on shore beside the boat. As he tried to register what it all meant, Ciela did the same, but rather out loud. "Linebeck, what _is_ all this?" she cried. The captain pulled a look of mock confusion. "What do you mean, 'what is all this'? What does it _look_ like, Sparkles? It's treasure!" he said, grinning. Seeing that the pair still weren't understanding, he rolled his eyes.

When you two left for the temple, I went to see what I could do with the Salvage Arm. And you wouldn't believe it, there's treasure everywhere!" he exclaimed, gesturing to the ocean. "All I had to do was just pick a random spot and drop the claw, and more often than not I'd find a chest!"

"But how did you get so _much_? We were only gone for like, 20 minutes!" Ciela cried. Linebeck shrugged. "I'm a professional treasure hunter. This is just what I do," he told them. Link shook his head. "Alright, whatever. Anyway, we need to talk to Oshus, Linebeck. We have to go back to Mercay."

Linebeck hauled all of his findings below deck with some effort, and a few minutes later he came back up, panting. "Talk to the old man? Why? Didn't you get the last spirit?" Link tossed the question around in his head as he tried to come up with an answer. "We don't actually know," he said finally. "We need Oshus though. We're sort of hoping he'll have some answers."

"As I usually do," said a voice behind Link. He spun around to find Oshus standing there with a slight smile on his face. "Hey, Osh!" Link cheered, raising his hand for a high-five. He was promptly hit on the head with the old man's conch staff. "I told you not to call me that," Oshus replied. Rubbing his head, Link asked, "Wait a minute, how did you even get here? And how did you know where to find us?"

"None of that matters now," the old man answered. "Now, I know why you wanted to see me. I am perfectly aware of your troubles." Linebeck shook his head. "So, anyone going to explain to me what these troubles are?" he asked, walking off of his ship onto shore. Link quickly explained the weird fairy they'd encountered, and then presented it to him and Oshus. The old man studied it briefly before nodding. "Yes, as I thought," he said quietly. Link looked into the senior's face. "If you ask me, it seems sort of lifeless," he commented. Oshus nodded. "That is because it is, in a way." Seeing three confused looks, he quickly pressed on.

"This fairy is not, in fact, your third spirit. It is not even a complete fairy. You see, this thing you see before you is just a sort of shell, containing only power and memories. In particular," he said, turning to Ciela, "Yours." Ciela was silent for a moment before saying, "I don't understand." Oshus nodded. "I didn't think you would. You see, there is a great evil that is currently attacking the world. The name of this evil is-"

"Ganondorf! I knew he wasn't dead!" Link exclaimed suddenly. He was quickly hit by Oshus again. "No, idiot, not Ganondorf! This evil's name is Bellum. Not too long ago, he attacked the Ocean King and drained him of most of his power. He also attacked the three spirits and imprisoned them in temples around the Great Sea. However, the Ocean King got to the Spirit of Courage first and managed to split her, with the intention that separating her from her power would protect her. However, resulting split also stripped her of her memories. She then found her way to me, and I have watched over her ever since." He faced Ciela again. "And I can rejoin you two once more."

He raised his staff in the air and a bright light erupted from nowhere. Link shielded his eyes, but saw that the shell was floating towards Ciela. When the two made contact, there was an explosion of white light that nearly blinded the hero. When it finally faded though, Link uncovered his eyes and gasped. There was only one fairy in the air now, glowing yellow. It descended to the three men standing around it and finally spoke. "I remember!" Ciela said happily. "I remember everything! Oh wait, no I don't. There's still a fairly large gap in my memory. What gives, Grandpa?" she asked, turning to Oshus. The old man sighed.

"It appears that you haven't gained all of your memories back," he said sadly. "However, what you have regained is what you need to help Link track the Ghost Ship." Ciela nodded. "Yes, I remember that I am the Courage Spirit, and I now have my power back. At least this is a definite improvement over five minutes ago." She turned to Link. "Well, I guess we have the third spirit. Now we can find the Ghost Ship!" she said excitedly. Link, however, only stared at her with a puzzled look. "Why are you yellow?" he finally asked.

"Er… What?" the fairy asked in confusion. Link repeated the question. "You say you're the Spirit of Courage, yet you're yellow. In my last adventure, everything that was associated with courage was green. I mean, power and wisdom were red and blue, and that's carried over; I figured courage would naturally follow. These two-" he paused to draw Leaf and Neri out of his pocket. The two came up panting and swearing loudly at the boy, "-are the right colours for their traits. Power Spirit's red, and Wisdom Spirit's blue. You, Miss Courage Spirit, should be green. Not yellow," he finished, as if that settled the matter. Ciela just stared at him, saying nothing. The other spirits looked around before spotting Oshus. "Hey, it's Oshus! No way man, it's been a while," Leaf said happily, flying over to the senior. Neri followed him, nodding. "Yeah, yeah, it's been ages! Leaf and I were just talking about how we hadn't seen Oshus in ages and how we should visit him sometime after this whole Ghost Ship thing blows over!"

As the fairies and Oshus visited, Ciela finally said, "Look, I'm just yellow. Deal with it, alright?" Link pouted. "Fine," he said, crossing his arms. Linebeck turned to Link. "Yeah, it's not that bad, kid. She deserves the name Sparkles even more now!" He laughed until Ciela hit him in the chest. "Look, we have all three spirits now, so why are we still wasting time here?" she asked. Looking at Link, she said questioningly, "I thought you wanted to find Tetra as fast as possible?" Link blinked. He had completely forgotten about her; the total destruction of the universe and all that he knew and cherished because of the fairy's wrong colour had wiped her from his mind.

He now truly saw how close he was to finding her; his entire adventure had been leading up to this. He remembered how the Ghost Ship had started to take off with her, and how he hadn't so much as _pretended_ to care. He turned away and blinked back a tear as he thought about how guilty he felt. It was his fault that she had been taken. So now, he was going to bring her back. He faced Ciela and Linebeck defiantly. "Let's go get her back," he said. The two smiled and nodded as they both boarded the _S.S. Linebeck_. Link walked over to Oshus to collect the other spirits. As he approached, the wise old man turned his attention to him. "Listen carefully, Link. To come this far, you must have at some point encountered a terribly thick fog. This is where the Ghost Ship resides. Once you enter that fog, the spirits will guide you to the Ship's location without you getting lost in it. Board the ship and retrieve your friend, but _be careful_. One false step and you could easily be the next victim to be claimed by it," Oshus warned. Link nodded and began to walk away, armed with this knowledge. As the fairies hovered alongside him, he stopped and turned back to Oshus. "And someday you'll explain how you know all this, right?" he asked. Oshus nodded. "Sooner than you think, young one," he replied. "Good luck."

Link thanked him and boarded the ship. As the spirits joined Ciela, the latter watched with Linebeck and Link as Oshus got smaller and smaller as they drifted away. When he had disappeared from sight completely, Link walked to the bow and watched the ocean with anticipation. The time to rescue Tetra had finally come.


	15. Tetra's Rescue

_Now before anyone else points it out, no, there is _not_ any humour this chapter. This chapter is for the plot, and there is very little to laugh about aboard the Ghost Ship. In fact, this chapter is more serious than even I had originally intended. Needless to say, it is definitely the darkest chapter thus far, with some angst thrown in this time. I know some of you were disappointed the last chapter wasn't very funny, because I got a few more PMs than expected about it; well, this one has even less, so be prepared. I also know that this chapter marks my third one this week. I don't know what to say about that, besides I guess "You're welcome". I've been waiting for a while to reach this point of the story, so I guess I was eager. I'm also depressed to point out that, story-wise, Phantom Hourglass is about half-over. Rest assured though, that the remaining chapters with have the funniness back; it's just the Ghost Ship that is sort of serious. That's about all I have to say, so enjoy the speedy updates while they last, and enjoy the chapter!_

**_Chapter 15: Tetra's Rescue_**

After what seemed like an eternity later to Link, when it actuality it was only about a half hour, they were at the southern tip of the Northwestern Sea. As the fog began to settle around them like it had so long ago, the boy braced himself and called the fairies to his side. _Come on Ship, I've been waiting for another chance at you,_ he thought grimly. _Don't disappoint me._

As the three spirits positioned themselves at the bow of the boat, Ciela turned to Link. "Here's what's going to happen," she explained. "Together, the three of us can detect the Ghost Ship's presence in this fog. When you're moving towards it, we'll all glow. We're pretty much going to be your compass to It."

"You're going to glow? Why not just tell me which direction the Ship is?" Link asked, puzzled. "I don't know, that's just how our powers work! Now just go with it!" replied the Courage Spirit in an exasperated tone. Link shrugged, and called below deck to Linebeck, "Alright, let's go! Just start moving around and we'll see what happens!"

Moments later, the boat began moving into heavier fog. Immediately the three spirits lit up slightly. Link called for a slight angle to port, and the glow became brighter. The task was surprisingly a slow one, as there were rocks in the water and Linebeck wouldn't go too fast for fear of hitting one. Link, though he found it frustrating, had to agree. He looked around and could see only fog. The only ocean he could spot was what they were currently cutting through.

After ten minutes of slow guessing, the three fairies were getting brighter. Link could faintly make out the sound of something else moving in the water, and grew more anxious. Suddenly, the spirits lit up significantly, and Link yelled for Linebeck to keep straight. As they sailed on, a faint outline became visible dead ahead of them. They got closer, and the Ghost Ship took form in front of them. Link shouted at Linebeck to kill the engines before they crashed, and the captain strained to comply until the boat finally stopped.

Linebeck appeared on the deck as Link stared up at the massive ship they were now alongside. Seeing it here, now, brought a shiver down the boy's spine. After what it had done, Link felt a small amount of fear at what was now in front of his eyes. However, there was no turning back now, so he turned to Linebeck. "You're staying here, I assume?" he asked, and the captain nodded. Wordlessly, he handed Link a rope, which the latter tossed onto the Ship's deck. It caught around a guardrail, and Link tested it. Turning to Linebeck, he said nothing, only nodding. As he began to climb the rope, Linebeck called, "Good luck."

* * *

The Ship was definitely eerie. The deck was rotted, and creaked everywhere Link stepped. Ciela, having parted with the other two spirits and following Link, surveyed a doorway that led below deck. "I guess she'll be down there?" she asked, shivering slightly. Link only shrugged before heading for it, calling out for his friend.

As they descended below deck, Link wondered what sorts of dangers were held on this ship. This was, after all, the boat that had kidnapped the toughest pirate on the Great Sea. If it could do that, who knew what else it could do? Link's thoughts were interrupted by something shining on the floor. As they approached it, Ciela voiced Link's own thoughts.

"This looks like a safe zone," she said out loud. "You don't think that this is like the Temple of the Ocean King, do you?" Link frowned. He sincerely hoped not. "Only one way to find out," he replied, and stepped past the zone. However, instead of feeling clammy, he felt no difference at all. He drew the Hourglass and examined it, but it just read _14:00_. Putting it away, he faced Ciela, confused. "So there's no life-sucking, despite having safe zones and a reputation for it," he wondered aloud. Said Ciela, "Maybe it sucks life in a different way than the Temple, just not through the air."

"Be that as it may, that still doesn't explain the safe zone," remarked the hero. He began to walk on when ahead of him, some purple smoke appeared. It eventually took the shape of a ghost-like creature with a large scythe. The Reapling, as it was, spotted Link and flew at him, weapon raised. Link cried out in surprise and jumped back into the safe zone. The moment he had, the Reapling stopped, looked around, and finally turned away before moving back down the hall. Link wiped some sweat from his brow. "Well, there's one mystery solved," he remarked. Ciela nodded. "Guess they're like the Phantoms of the Ghost Ship."

Carefully, the pair moved on, pausing whenever the Reapling changed direction, until they were eventually past it and down another staircase Ciela had discovered. On the new floor, there was much more open space, and several drum barrels. In one corner of the room was a rather large safe zone, and standing in it, to Link's surprise, was a young girl with a red cloak. Link ran over to her and she collapsed, crying. "Thank goodness, I was afraid I'd be stuck here forever!" the girl cried. "I was captured by this miserable Ship, and I've been here for ages!" Link patted her shoulder awkwardly, until she stood up and wiped her tears away.

"I'm wondering if you could do me a favour?" she asked him. "My three sisters were captured too, and I would desperately like them found." Link sighed. "I sort of have my own agenda, but I suppose I can help you," he told the girl, though he would much rather be looking for Tetra. The girl, however, clapped her hands and smiled widely. "Thank you! My sisters look like me, only with different coloured cloaks. I'll wait here while you find them," she said, and Link turned away to spot a passage leading away from the room. As he walked away, he rolled his eyes, and as soon as he and Ciela were out of the girl's sight, he mimed hanging a noose around his neck. "Come on, Link, look how young she is! She's probably scared half to death!" Ciela said sympathetically. Link snorted. "I don't care, there's something I don't like about her. I would rather just find Tetra and get off of this creepy boat."

Following the passage, Link eventually came across some more drum barrels along the wall. One of them was moving slightly, and Link lifted it up to reveal a girl underneath. The red-cloaked one had not lied; they did indeed resemble each other. The only difference was that this one wore a purple cloak. The girl, still shivering, looked into Link's face and asked timidly, "Are you here to rescue me?"

"Yes, I apparently am, now let's go," Link said, hauling the girl to her feet. She smiled weakly, but remained rooted to the spot. "Can you go ahead of me and make sure there aren't any spiders?" she asked. Link blinked incredulously. "You can't be serious! Let's just go meet your sister so I can find the rest of you and get back to _my_ quest!"

"You don't understand, I hate spiders so much, they scare me so much I scream every time I see them!" As the girl's sentence ended, her voice rose to a loud screech that Link was sure the entire ship could hear. "Will you shut up before something else finds us?" he shouted even louder at her. Before either of them could say anything else though, purple smoke filled the passage further down from them, which eventually formed into five Reaplings. They immediately charged down the hall, scythes already slicing at them. "Link!" Ciela screamed. "Why did you have to yell?"

"Just shut up and run!" Link shouted. He picked up the girl and bolted down the hall, Ciela close behind, as the Reaplings were hot in pursuit. As they entered into the open room again, Link dived into the safe zone as a scythe just missed him. The Reaplings eventually disappeared as he stood up and wiped the dust off of his tunic. The red-cloaked girl helped her sister up and turned to Link. "Thank you for saving my big sister! Now, if you'll just find the next two-" Link cut her off. "Nope, I'm done. She's a headache, and so are you, so I can only imagine what four of you together are like. I'm out, have fun on your own."

Link was about to turn around when the two girls glared at him. "Fine then," the younger one told him. "Then I guess the plans have changed a bit." She snapped her fingers, and Link suddenly felt a presence behind him. He spun around to see two more identical girls, one in yellow, the other green. He looked around wildly as the youngest one snapped her fingers again, and everything went white. "Let's play a game, shall we? Dead Man's Volley is always fun," Link heard one of them say.

Next thing he knew, he and Ciela were on the deck of the Ghost Ship, and four creatures floated in front of him. Link thought they were ghosts, before recognizing their cloaks and realizing that they were the sisters. "You will regret mouthing off the Diabolical Cubus Sisters!" they screamed in unison before one of them hurled a ball of energy at Link.

Link screamed and drew his sword. Operating on pure survival instinct, he hit the ball with his sword and watched in amazement as it began to head the other way. One of the sisters hit it back to him, and Link quickly figured out the rules to Dead Man's Volley. He swiped at the ball again as it approached him, and it flew back and made contact with one of the sisters. She shrieked in pain before disappearing in a puff of smoke. "And you wanted to trust these freaks!" Link yelled at Ciela as another sister formed a ball and threw it at him. "Yeah, yeah, just shut up and keep rallying!" the fairy replied as the game continued.

As the ball made contact and another sister disappeared, Link smiled despite himself. He had been afraid that he would die where he stood, but he actually stood a chance in this. The third sister went down, and the final one watched her sister disappear before turning to Link. "Just you and me, hero," she replied as she formed a ball in her hands. As she prepared to launch it at Link, she added, "Too bad your friend won't end up being saved after all."

Link snarled at this and threw his sword at the ghost. It swung through the air before piercing her forehead. The ball in her hand immediately disappeared, and she screamed for a long time before exploding in a rather violent burst of smoke.

Link walked across the deck and picked up his sword before sheathing it. Ciela slowly flew up to the boy and said quietly, "Nice job. They were all talk, the way they went down so fast." Seeing the anger in his eyes as he continued to look at the floor, she quickly added, "Link, I'm sure she didn't mean it. Tetra has to be here somewhere, she was probably just trying to distract you." Link closed his eyes and nodded. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes as he heard a noise behind him. They both turned to see a glowing blue light on the floor. Link slowly approached it before looking at Ciela. The fairy nodded, and they both entered into it.

The portal took them to a small room with a couple of windows and a doorway behind them. As the light faded, Link could make out a figure across the room. Seeing hair tied up into a familiar trademark bun, Link's heart leapt. "Tetra!" he shouted as he ran towards the figure, only to stop short and gasp.

The figure was indeed Tetra, but she was encased in stone. A look of distress was on her face, and she was reaching out, almost in shock. Link just stared at her. It took several moments before it sunk in. Once it had, tears fell from his face as he softly grasped her outstretched hand. Ciela flew up to him and examined the statue sadly. "I'm sorry Link," she said finally as the boy wept harder. Hearing footsteps behind her, the fairy turned quickly to see Linebeck and Oshus walking through the doorway, the spirits hovering above them. Link turned around as well, and when they both looked at the captain, he only shrugged with a look of confusion on his face. "He just appeared on the deck of the Ghost Ship, so I came with him," he stated. Looking at Link's distraught face, he asked, "Kid? What's wrong?"

Link wordlessly stood aside, and Linebeck finally noticed the statue behind him. After a moment, he said, "That's her, isn't it?" Link nodded sadly, wiping a fresh tear from his eye. "I was too late," he said, his voice cracking. "I took too long." The truth of it all crushed the hero. He had never once considered that Tetra would be in any immediate, life-threatening danger. He had always imagined her waiting for him, but not like this. Oshus finally speaking brought Link out of his thoughts. "Relax everybody, she's not yet gone," he said reassuringly. Link stared at the man for a moment, thinking he'd heard wrong. "She's not?" he dared to ask. Oshus shook his head. "She is encased in stone, yes, but I can still sense her life force in her," he answered. Everybody looked at him, each with a different expression. It was Linebeck who spoke first. "Alright old man, enough is enough. Who are you?" he demanded suspiciously.

Oshus smiled slightly. "I once had another form, through which I watched over this world. But then Bellum came, and he relentlessly attacked, absorbing the life energy of everything. He eventually found me, but I, like I had done to Ciela, split myself and got away. I don't have much of my power like this, but I have enough for when it's needed," he explained. Link's eyes widened. "The Ocean King," he whispered, and Oshus nodded.

"Everything that has transpired has done so because of Bellum. The Ghost Ship is his own creation, created with a reputation of untold riches to attract people for him to feast off of. While this Ship sails around and picks up unsuspecting people, Bellum himself resides at the very bottom of the Temple of the Ocean King. It is he that fills the Temple with the life-sucking fog, but I was able to create safe zones to protect any that entered." He turned to Tetra. "As for your young friend, she has had some of her life energy drained, but she is still alive. However, even I cannot undo this magic. Not with my current power, at any rate. Bellum himself must be defeated if you wish to save your friend."

Link gritted his teeth. Here he was, finally at Tetra's side once more, and it still wasn't enough! Now he had to kill this Bellum as well to actually save her? This whole thing was really starting to piss him off. "Fine, so I'll just go to the bottom of the Temple and kill the stupid thing," he said shortly. Oshus, however, shook his head.

"You first need a weapon that can damage Bellum. It is called the Phantom Sword, and no, you cannot find it anywhere," he said quickly, seeing Link was about to interject. "It must be created, composing of two factors." Link yelled in frustration and punched the wall behind him. "Calm down, you already have one of them," Oshus said sternly. Link looked at him and asked, "I do?"

"The Phantom Hourglass," the Ocean King told him. "The other factor is the metals. The Sword can only be created by using three incredibly rare metals. My suggestion would be to descend the Temple once more and seeing if you can find another Sea Chart. Go from there and you should have no trouble finding them."

Link looked at the old man before nodding finally and gently picking Tetra up as best he could. He began to move to the doorway with Ciela before noticing that Linebeck wasn't following. Turning to the captain, Link asked, "Are you coming? You heard Oshus, we have things to do." However, Linebeck remained where he stood. His hair obscured his eyes, and when he finally spoke, his voice had a dark tone.

"Am I correct in understanding," he said slowly, "That there _is_ no treasure here?" Link stood where he was, not understanding what was happening. "If you remember," Linebeck continued, "The reason I helped you, the reason I lent you usage of my boat, was because I was told that there was a hoard of treasure on this Ship." He turned to face Oshus, and there was a dangerous look in his eyes. "And now you tell me that it was all a hoax?" he yelled at the Ocean King.

Link's stomach churned uncomfortably. Now he could see why Linebeck was so angry. The captain advanced threateningly on Oshus, but Ciela flew in front of him. "Linebeck, stop it!" she told him. "Isn't helping Link find his friend reason enough?" Linebeck turned his gaze to the fairy and glared darkly at her. "No, it bloody well isn't! You-" he pointed at Link, "Wanted to save your friend. And you," he said to Ciela, "Wanted the taste of adventure. You know what I wanted? The treasure of the Ghost Ship! And you know what? There isn't any here! And you knew this all along and still blind-sighted me?" he roared, facing Oshus once more.

"You are quite right, Linebeck. I deceived you into helping Link. I knew that the promise of treasure was the only way to get you in, so I didn't bother to mention that it was a lie. For this, I apologize. But hear me out, Linebeck. Continue to help Link, lend him your assistance with collecting the metals, and when Bellum is destroyed and my power returned, I will grant you one wish," Oshus told him. Linebeck stared at him for a moment, before asking, "Do you mean that?"

Oshus nodded, and Linebeck sighed. "Fine, when this Bellum thing or whatever gets destroyed, I get a wish," he said, and he and the Ocean King shook on it. Then, walking over to Link, he helped him pick up Tetra and they all made their way to the _S.S. Linebeck_.

* * *

After setting Tetra below deck beside the steering wheel, Linebeck began to chart the course for Mercay Island. As he did so, he thought about what he could use his wish for. _That's a tough one,_ he thought sarcastically. _The pile of treasure I never got. _He smiled at the thought of the treasure he was going to get when all this was over, and began making his way for Mercay.

Link stood beside him, staring into Tetra's frozen eyes. So it turned out his quest wasn't over after all; there was still a lot to do yet. Taking his friend's hand one again, he silently promised her that he would return her to normal as soon as he could. _I _will _save you, Tetra. Whatever it takes._


	16. Not Quite The End

_Yes, believe it or not, I'm finally back. I apologize for the unexpected year-long hiatus, but I'm going to make sure that doesn't ever happen again. To make it up to you, here's the next chapter of Phantom Hourglass. It was originally going to be a lot longer, but I decided to split it into two smaller chapters instead, just to get something out to you guys quicker; that's the reason it just sort of stops. From now on I'll try and be speedier with the updating. Nothing to do now except the usual: apologize profusely and hope you guys can forgive me. Now, that aside, let's dive back into the story!_

**_Chapter 16: Not Quite The End_**

The _S.S. Linebeck_ quickly cut through the waters of the Southwestern Sea as Link watched over the bow, looking determined. He had been contemplating this new task that was required of him, and how difficult it seemed compared even to acquiring the spirits. He wasn't sure what to think, but this was now personal; he had a vendetta against Bellum for doing this to his friend. And no one attacked the fiercest pirate on the Great Sea without repercussions.

Link sighed and drew the Hourglass. Staring into its chambers, he let his thoughts turn to the weapon that he had to create. Two factors to its formation, Oshus had said. But what had he added? "Y_ou already have one of them._" So his journey up to this point hadn't been a total waste then. But where in the Great Sea was he supposed to find these 'incredibly rare metals'? He hadn't the slightest clue where to look for one rare metal, never mind a trio of them. He sighed again.

He could only hope that a new Sea Chart could unlock some of this mystery for him. He put the Hourglass away and went to turn away from the railing, when he suddenly stopped. _Is someone yelling…? _He quickly spun around only to be smacked in the face by Ciela, who, it seemed, was the source of the noise.

"For the hundredth time, _we're here_! Will you _get_ off your ass and quit the inner monologue? Let's get to the friggin' temple already!" she screamed in his face. Link blinked and looked around. "When did we get back to Mercay?" He asked stupidly. Ciela groaned and turned away from the green-clad boy. "Let's go," she repeated. Link nodded and they set off.

"Yeah, I'll just wait here, I've got important stuff to do!" Linebeck yelled after them. He received a rock thrown at his head as a response and quickly ducked. Standing back up, he yelled, "You're _so_ going overboard when you get back, Sparkles!" The next rock hit him between the eyes.

* * *

Link cringed slightly as he heard the captain's pained scream ring out over the town. "Why are you suddenly so violent?" he asked his companion. "Want a rock thrown at you too?" she growled. Link shook his head quickly. "Then shut up," she replied and, seeing the temple ahead, quickly flew into it. Link followed, and without hesitating descended to the first floor for what felt like the twelfth time.

There was a new surprise waiting for him this time however: the Phantoms were now in red armour. Link decided to pay them no mind and went through his routines, until one caught sight of him. Turning to face the Hero, it charged at him with alarming speed. Link yelped and dove into a safe zone, and panted while the monster looked around before finally heading back to its patrol route. Ciela fluttered by his head, rolling her eyes. "Some hero. Maybe don't underestimate your opponent next time? He _is_ capable of, y'know, ending you," she said casually. Link just stood and went back to getting through the floors.

It was about six minutes later that the pair reached the final floor. Link stood before the door that he had drawn the hourglass on last time. However, that room ended in a dead-end. There had to be a way to advance somehow, but the answer was eluding Link's admittedly small brain. Ciela was stumped as well, to his dismay. It seemed he couldn't luck out this time.

"I don't know," Ciela said finally. "What other sacred marks do you know?" Link shrugged, and traced a line on the floor as he thought. It was then that he noticed the triangle on his left hand. He stared at it, remembering how the crest, where his Triforce piece existed in him, had once allowed him to access Hyrule to challenge Ganondorf for the final time. Even after the King of Evil had drawn the Triforce of Courage out of him which had since vanished, the crest on his hand hadn't disappeared. He tried to remember if he had since seen Tetra's crest on her hand after their journey ended, but couldn't think back that far. Still though, maybe the crest hadn't faded for this reason. _Did the Gods keep this mark on me so that I could remember it now?_ Link pondered. He finally picked himself up and traced the Triforce with his finger onto the door. To his great surprise, the symbol glowed before the door split open. Link punched the air in delight. _Maybe they did,_ he thought happily and walked through, Ciela following.

The first thing he noticed was that this was not the same room they had visited last time. The layout was different, the Sea Chart was gone, and there was a staircase descending deeper into the temple. _How many floors does this freaking temple have?_ Link thought, frustrated. That was when he noticed the second major difference. There was a light present that the pair always used to warp, only this one was gold. Link stepped into it hesitantly before he was whisked away.

When he stopped moving he realized that he was back on the main floor of the temple. Link stepped out of the light and cringed, but the light stayed where it was. Link breathed a sigh of relief. He now had a shortcut to bypass six floors! He quickly ran outside to reset the Hourglass, then dashed back into the golden light. As he warped back, Link couldn't help but grin. At least this temple wasn't completely against him.

When he reappeared into the room, Ciela flew forward. "Where'd you go?" she asked. Link flashed a smile at the fairy. "Back to the main floor," he said. "And," he added, "the light stayed, so I could reset the Phantom Hourglass and get my time b-" he suddenly stopped as he stared at the Hourglass in his hands. Twelve seconds ago it had read _14:00_; now though, it read _7:34_, like it had when they first entered the room. "Wait, what happened? It just said…" he trailed off.

"Actually, it seems fair," Ciela responded. "It took us six minutes and twenty-six seconds to get this far; now we have a shortcut to get here immediately, but it'll always take that time off. We have to use the remaining time to get to where we need." Link frowned. Just when he thought that he was catching a break, he found out there was _another_ rule in play. He sighed. "Well, better than nothing, I suppose," he replied, and descended to the seventh floor.

Taking a deep breath, he ran out of the safe zone and began figuring out what to do. However, this time it wasn't as simple as solving a puzzle and going through each floor; this new puzzle required that he traverse across three floors collecting crystals to place them in pedestals on the ninth floor. It was agonizing work, and Link was painfully aware of his precious time disappearing with every step he took. Finally, he managed to get all three of the crystals into their respective pedestals, and a door in front of them opened. Link, panting, staggered through the door and collapsed.

Looking around, he saw that this was a safe room. Likewise, the Hourglass was no longer ticking. Link noted though that he only had sixteen seconds left anyway. He had never cut it so close before, and tried not to think about what would've happened had it run out sooner. Link shuddered. The first experience with the fog still haunted him; the feeling of it literally draining him was horrible.

The boy picked himself up as Ciela entered behind him. "So that's it then?" she asked, and Link followed her gaze. He hadn't even noticed the Sea Chart lying on the pedestal in the middle of the room. Walking forward, he picked it up and quickly examined it, deducing that it was the Southeastern Chart. A warp light appeared, and he headed for it before he was shoved at the last second. He landed on his face and was warped away as the Chart fell to the floor. Ciela flew down and picked it up to look at it. "Moron, it's always about him," she mumbled, as she entered the light as well.

As she appeared in the main floor, Link glared at her, nursing a bleeding nose. "What gives? I think you broke it!" he yelled at the fairy. Ciela shrugged. "I figured I could start being more abusive, just to shake things up," she replied carelessly. Tossing the chart to the Hero, she flew out of the temple and disappeared. Link pocketed the chart and, muttering obscenities at the fairy, made his way out of the temple and for the boat.

* * *

When Link arrived at the _S.S. Linebeck_, the first thing he noticed was that the captain was gathering rocks into his arms. The second thing was that he had a round, red mark right on the bridge of his nose. The third thing was that he looked absolutely pissed.

The man finally noticed the boy standing there and was about to say something, but stopped short when he noticed the blood dripping from the latter's face. His eyes narrowed. "That fairy's gonna drown!" he yelled, and Link nodded in agreement. Taking some of Linebeck's rocks, he looked around for the cause of their pain. To his surprise though, she wasn't anywhere to be found. "Wait, where is she?" Link asked, confused. Just then the Courage Spirit came into view, heading from the west part of the island. "Guys, I was just talking to Grandpa-" the fairy started, before stopping and noticing Linebeck glaring at her and positively seething. She fluttered back slightly.

"Anyway, Grandpa says to go talk to Zauz, the one who can make the Phantom Sword," she continued. "He can give you a clue about what metals will be needed. Oh, and before you ask, Grandpa says he warped back here." She beamed, happy to relay this news and expecting praise for her efforts. When none came though, she blinked. The two men were breathing heavily, and she noticed the piles of rocks in their arms. "…Guys?" she finally asked. She then screamed as a rock flew over her head.

"What was that for?" she exclaimed. Her eyes then widened as they began throwing rocks as fast as they could in her direction. She shrieked and flew around quickly, trying to dodge. "Onto the ship, let's ditch!" Linebeck yelled. "Go, go, go, go, go!" he added quickly as Link made his way onto the ship. Linebeck quickly followed, continuing to hurl rocks at the still-dodging fairy. Link pulled the plank on board, and Linebeck quickly steered them away from shore. As they sailed away, Linebeck threw his last rock, and laughed as it collided with the small ball of light. "That'll teach her," he grinned as he and Link shared a fist-bump.

"So, where's this Zauz guy live, anyway?" Link asked, staring at the captain. The man was about to answer when he realized he didn't have the slightest clue. His eyes widened as he also realized that Ciela likely knew; at the prospect of turning around to get her, his eye twitched.

The entire island of Mercay shook as the inhabitants, rushing to their homes in fear, heard the captain swearing at the top of his lungs.


	17. Ganondorf's Double

_Well, here's last week's chapter, since I missed the update. Oh, for those who haven't heard: I'm going to do a chapter a week from now on, otherwise this story will never get finished. As such, expect this week's chapter very soon. This is the other half of the last chapter; as I mentioned before, I had originally planned to release these two as one. Now, I know this chapter's sort of dry; the exposition was necessary for the characters to know what the hell they're actually doing. More action next chapter, I promise. So, with all that said and done, enjoy!_

_**Chapter 17: Ganondorf's Double**_

"Thanks for coming to get me guys," said Ciela as she hovered over the bow, "Though I think the rocks were a bit out of the blue. I mean, what prompted that, exactly?" She looked expectantly at Link, who just glared at her and imagined clipping her wings off. Shrugging, she fluttered down below deck to relay the same question to the captain, only to rush back onto the deck with a string of loud curses following her. "Geez, why's everyone so pissy all of the sudden?" she mumbled, and Link just snorted.

"So where is it that we're going then?" Link grudgingly asked the fairy. "You said you knew. If you were lying, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to hold Linebeck back…" He trailed off, cracking his knuckles threateningly. Ciela winced. "Yes, I know where we're going," she remarked. "I was the one smart enough to go take a visit to Grandpa to find out, wasn't I?"

"You were also the one smart enough to be a total bitch and get herself stoned!" Link snapped at her, and she glared at him. "It's not my fault you happen to be incompetent!" she yelled. "I'm incompetent?" Link roared in disbelief. "Who's been doing _everything_ in this adventure so far? I still think you're lying about knowing where to go!"

"Oh yeah?" screamed the fairy. "I'll have you know that Zauz lives a little ways north of the Isle of Gust! So there!" Link stared for a moment, then called, "Hey Linebeck-"

"I know, I heard, the entire friggin' ocean can hear you two," came the captain's reply from below deck. "North of the Isle of Gust it is then." With that, the boat angled north, and they slowly made their way to the Northwestern Sea.

* * *

_Half an hour later…_

"Is that it?" Link pointed to the small island directly in front of them. There was only one small house to be found; the rest of the island was completely bare. Ciela nodded. "Zauz isolates himself because he likes his privacy. Plus people think he's scary. The man does nothing but build weapons all day. The populace fears he may one day attempt to establish his dominion over them all."

Link blinked in confusion. "He's only one man. How would that even work?" Ciela shrugged. "I never said it was a _smart_ populace." Link shook his head. Sometimes, Neutral-Party Civilians really annoyed him.

"Whatever. Let's just find out what we need to know and get moving, I have crap to collect so I can save Tetra. Again. So the sooner the better," Link stated, and hopped off the boat as soon as it was docked. Ciela just sighed and followed him, and Linebeck brought up the rear.

"Why are you coming?" Ciela asked the captain as they headed up to the house. Linebeck shrugged. "I'm bored, I guess," he replied lazily, as they caught up with Link. The door was open, so Link knocked on the doorframe and they entered.

The house was small, and everything was focused around a fireplace and a table in the corner. A man with red hair was tending to the fire, and had his back to them. Link noticed an odd purple tattoo that snaked down from his right shoulder to his arm, and another one in an 'S' pattern on his left shoulder. "Um, excuse me…" Link began, and the man turned to face them. Link gasped in surprise.

"Ganondorf!" he cried, drawing his sword and charging at the man. But before he had taken two steps, the man had grabbed a weapon hanging on the wall behind him, disarmed the boy, and kicked him to the floor. Linebeck whistled slowly. "Fancy moves," he remarked. "Enough to take you down in three seconds," he added with a smirk at Link. The green-clad hero's face burned with embarrassment, and the man reached out a hand to help him up. "I am not Ganondorf," the man said calmly. "Although he _is_ my brother who turned to the dark side when we were simple children." Link's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked in wonder.

The man snorted. "No, not really. I have no idea who this Ganondorf is, I'm just screwing with you. Anyway," he said, offering his hand to Linebeck, "I am Zauz, the swordsmith. I assume that if you're here, you have need of my services." As he said this, Link examined him closely. His resemblance to Ganondorf was uncanny. His nose, his facial structure, his hair… It all made Link think back to his final confrontation with the King of Evil. He had learned to know that face, and knew he would for the rest of his life. He snapped back to attention as he heard Linebeck say, "Yes, actually. We need a sword made."

Zauz spread his arms wide. "Then you have come to the right place. Just name the specifics, and I'll name the price. Simple as that." He frowned as he saw Link look away slightly. "Hmm?" he asked. "There is something you're not telling me."

Link looked at the man and took a deep breath. "The sword we want," he began, "can't just be made. It requires three special metals to its creation; metals which as we speak are hidden across the Great Sea." Zauz frowned, all humour on his face gone. "You speak of the Phantom Sword," he replied levelly. Link nodded. "We need it to defeat a terrible evil."

"Bella," Linebeck added. Ciela looked at him. "Um, it's Bellum," she corrected. Linebeck shrugged. "They're both evil," he replied nonchalantly. Ciela rolled her eyes. "Anyway, can you help us?" she asked the swordsmith. Zauz grabbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "The Phantom Sword is a legendary weapon that requires perfect forging to give it birth," he told them. "It will be difficult, but yes, I can create it." Link breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll pay any price, whatever you want," he assured the man. Zauz waved his hand.

"If the creation of this sword is to bring down the one that is attacking the Ocean King and the Great Sea, then I will do it for free," he told them. "However, the issue at hand is the metals. You are telling me that you have none of them?" Link glanced at the other two. "Well… yeah," he said finally. "We don't even know what they are, or where to find them."

Zauz nodded. "Understandable, as they _are_ rare metals. However, as it is, _I_ do." Link's eyes widened, and turned excitedly to Linebeck, who nodded happily. Zauz grabbed a chair and sank into it. "The three metals were once called Pure Metals, and were an ancient treasure for some species," he explained. "The three metals are Aquanine, Azurine, and Crimsonine. To my knowledge, they have never been brought together to create the Phantom Sword before, though legend has it that these metals are so powerful that the sword can actually be broken apart back into their separate components. Of course, that's just a rumour, since the sword has never been created. Though it does make me wonder…" Zauz trailed off, his eyes glazed over as he became lost in thought. A moment later he blinked and refocused on the Trio. "I believe that the Gorons were once in possession of the Crimsonine, and the Anouki once owned the Azurine. As for the Aquanine's location, I am not sure." Link's mouth dropped. _So close, and there's _one_ metal that we don't know the location of?_

Zauz saw the look of disappointment on Link's face and waved his hands hastily. "Hold on, I don't mean it's lost completely. It's just that the Aquanine was once the prized possession of King Mutoh and his kingdom. But that was hundreds of years ago, and the kingdom is now a land of the dead. I have no idea if the metal is still there or not; there have been a lot of treasure hunters over the years that have scoured the kingdom searching for it. You will simply have to see for yourselves."

Link nodded in understanding. "I think we'll start with the Gorons. I met a few of them in my last adventure, so at least I know what I'm dealing with. Do you know where they are?" Link pulled out his Sea Charts and laid them out on the table. Zauz studied them for a minute before finally gesturing to a large island in the Southeastern Sea. "I believe this is Goron Island, where they reside," he said. "When you have acquired the metals, come back to me and I shall immediately set to work creating the blade."

Zauz rose from his chair and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I am confident you will succeed in your quest, young Link. Do not get discouraged, and remember that you have the help of Ciela and Linebeck to back you up." Linebeck stared in confusion. "Hang on, how did you know all of our names? We never mentioned them," he remarked curiously. Zauz simply smiled and turned back to his project. "Until we meet again," he said, and went back to the sword he was working on. The trio watched him work for a moment before finally turning and heading out the door.

"So, Goron Island," Linebeck wondered aloud as they trekked back to the _S.S. Linebeck_. "Based on what we've had to do so far, there's going to be a lot of needlessly pointless garbage to do before we get the metal."

"What's this 'we' stuff? You don't do anything besides catch a tan!" Ciela exclaimed. "And I happen to look quite good with a tan, thank you," the captain replied with a smug grin and a wink. Ciela just groaned as they boarded the boat, and Linebeck disappeared below deck to plot out their route to the Southeastern Sea. Link planted himself at the bow and stared out at the small house on the island. _Zauz sure knew a lot for being a simple swordsmith,_ he pondered. _And he knows how to create the Phantom Sword? There's a lot more to that man than he's letting on…_

"Full speed ahead!" he heard the captain cry out, and he grinned. "Hey Linebeck, how about I steer us there?" he asked, rising to his feet. "Over my evil tentacle monster-possessed body!" the man's voice replied from below deck. "Aww, c'mon? I'll be careful!" the hero whined, and headed down to bicker with the man face-to-face. Ciela simply listened to the growing argument as she watched the ocean go by. "This trip is gonna take friggin' forever," she muttered dryly as the arguing escalated into nonstop yelling.


	18. The Stupidity of Gorons

_And here's this week's chapter. Some of you may question my sanity after reading this one, but you have no idea how fun it was to write! Don't get me wrong, I like Gorons, I'm all for them. I just like Zoras a whole lot better. I also just want to make it clear that the Goron Elder isn't stupid like his people; he's just a little distracted and unobservant. But hey, sure beats being stupid. Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think!_

_God, I'm so sick of writing the word 'Goron'._

_**Chapter 18: The Stupidity of Gorons**_

The _S.S. Linebeck_ continued to cut through the waters as it edged closer to its destination. Link leaned against the bridge, sopping wet and pouting. His argument with Linebeck had gotten to the point where the captain simply picked him up, carried him up to the deck, and threw him over the side. Somehow managing to drag himself up the wheel and having it carry him up as it rotated, he made it back onto the deck where he had proceeded to cuss Linebeck out for several minutes before finally crossing his arms and trying his best impression of a frowney-face.

"Alright kids," came Linebeck's voice, "take your first look at… The Southeastern Sea!" Link and Ciela stared out the bow, unimpressed. "Whoop-de-friggin'-doo, it looks like the exact same water we've been sailing on for the past week," Link spit out sarcastically. "Wait a minute," Ciela responded, looking at him. "We've been doing this thing for only a week? It feels like years!"

"Oh, um… I'm sure that's entirely a coincidence," Linebeck said as he strode onto the deck. "But seriously guys, take a look around! We've never seen this part of the Great Sea before!"

"Yes we have, Mercay Island is right near the border of the Southern seas, it's plainly visible! We stare at it all the time!" Link argued. "Well, okay," Linebeck agreed, "but we've never been here before! That's new, right?"

"Big deal," Ciela rolled her eyes. "Link's right, Mercay is still just _right there_. I mean, there's Grandpa's house right now! I can even see him standing there waving at us! This isn't that impressive," she finished, facing the captain. He snorted. "Fine, take all the fun out of this. I think it's exciting though."

Link sighed. "Can we just get to the island?" he asked, bored. "Why are we going so slow? Goron Island is in plain sight, I could swim there faster at this rate!"

"You want to?" Linebeck asked, his eyes gleaming darkly. Link stared at him for a moment before turning his eyes back to the island. "I'm good right now, thanks."

"That's what I thought," the captain replied, and disappeared below deck.

Link just sighed again and stared back out at the island. _Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up…_

* * *

_Shortly…_

The _S.S. Linebeck_ finally docked at Goron Island, and the trio made their way onto the dock. Looking around, they saw many rock-like huts scattered around, which appeared to be pathetic attempts at houses. Link just snorted and strode inland, while the captain and fairy followed slowly.

"This place looks like a mountain that died," Link commented idly. Linebeck chuckled.

"I don't even know what that means and I agree," he remarked. "So what do these Gorons look like?"

Link glanced around, trying to spot one. "Big, stupid rocks with limbs and stone-nipples," he offered. Suddenly the ground crashed as a scraping movement could be heard behind a house. Ciela cried out as a massive brown creature appeared and charged towards them. Link reached for his sword frantically, but the monstrosity stopped right before them and glared down at the hero. Link glanced up hesitantly at the behemoth that was blocking out the sun. "Stone-nipples," he whispered to his partners, not-so-subtly gesturing to the spots on its chest.

"I heard what you said!" the thing yelled and slammed its fists into its chest. "We Gorons don't appreciate being made fun of! We talk good for smart head in things genius!" Link just stared.

"…I have no idea what that means," he said finally. "Anyway, we're looking for the head of Primitive Town here. Know… Where… He… Is?" he asked very slowly, using big hand gestures. The Goron laughed.

"Of course I do, for he is he! I mean me! …I mean I! I'm head!" he yelled finally. Link was about to answer when another earthquake shook beneath their feet, and a large Goron emerged from a hut, white markings adorned on his chest. Additionally, he had a rock beard that, Link had to admit, looked quite impressive. The Goron roared and made his way over to them.

"For the love of Biggoron, _I'm _in charge!" he yelled at the first Goron, who gasped. "How do you know of the ancient Biggoron?" he asked in wonder. The bearded man's eye twitched.

"Because I _am_ Biggoron!" he finally yelled. The other Goron squealed.

"That is so cool! I'm Biggoron now too!" he screamed, and ran off with his arms out, singing, "Laa, la laa, la laa…" The older Goron facepalmed.

"Anyway… I am Biggoron, the actual head of this island," he said finally, turning back to the three that stood before him. Linebeck peered around the rock-man and stared at the populace that were now emerging from their huts. "Um… What's wrong with your village?" he asked.

"Oh, we're a tribe solely of males," Biggoron explained. "So, a lot of really disgusting inbreeding I won't even describe takes place here. At any rate, the result is what you see before you-" He gestured to a pair of Gorons that were arguing that each of them was in charge. "A tribe of total lunatics." The two Gorons then pulled each other into what was not a platonic hug. "Bipolar ones," he added with a sigh.

"And they each think they're in charge?" Ciela confirmed. Biggoron shrugged. "I have no idea how that actually started," he admitted. "But enough of that. Why have you come to this sick, bizarre island that I myself have tried escaping from countless times?"

Link glanced around nervously. A few Gorons were beginning to eye him up. "W-we need a metal called Crimsonine," he stammered. The tribe leader blinked. "Oh, okay," he said. He turned around to his hut and yelled, "Gongoron!"

"You have a-" Ciela was cut off by Biggoron, who quickly answered, "Don't ask." A small Goron boy emerged from the hut and shuffled over to his father. "What?" he snapped.

"This is my son, Gongoron. He'll eventually become the head of the tribe one day, but that seems to instil fear in whoever I tell. I don't know why," Biggoron pondered. Gongoron looked up at Link and sneered.

"My dad is in charge, so that makes me more powerful than you. I don't have to do a thing you say," he mocked, sticking his tongue out at the hero. Link drew his sword and pointed it at the boy's throat. "Y'wanna bet?" he asked through gritted teeth. Biggoron didn't notice any of this and continued talking to Linebeck and Ciela.

"I'm pretty sure the Crimsonine is in the Goron Temple, just to the north of the island. My son will lead you there around the entire island before finally coming to the entrance, where you'll have to then trek through an entire labyrinth before coming to the metal." Ciela stared at him.

"Yeah, that sounds needlessly complicated. Is there any easier way to go about this?" she asked. Biggoron looked off into the distance for a moment. "Well, I suppose there's a bridge that connects straight to the temple from the village," he said finally, "only it'll cost you a boatload of treasure to use." Ciela's eyes widened as Linebeck paled.

"Hey, wait-" he started, but was cut off by Gongoron running by and hiding behind his father. Link joined them a moment later and asked, "So what's going on?"

"We're getting a shortcut to the temple for the simple price of all of Linebeck's treasure," Ciela recapped. Link frowned. "Linebeck has treasure?"

"Yeah, remember all of that stuff he found with the Salvage Arm back in chapter 14?" she added helpfully. Link squinted his eyes in concentration. "Oh yeah, that's right," he said finally. "Well, it's all on the boat," he added to Biggoron as he pointed to the _S.S. Linebeck._ Biggoron grinned and pulled a remote out of his pocket. Before anyone could realize how little that made sense, the tribe leader had hit a button on it and a bridge extended from the north side of the village, out across the ocean, and connected to the land on the other side where the temple was plainly visible. Pocketing his remote once more, Biggoron ran to the boat while everyone else was left to stare in wonder.

Link finally shook his head and turned to Ciela. "Right, the path is open to us. The next logical course of action is obvious." He drew his sword once more and turned on Gongoron. "Go to the temple and find the Crimsonine, or we'll learn today if it's possible to eviscerate a Goron," he said threateningly, raising the weapon. Gongoron shrieked and sprinted down the bridge toward the temple.

Link laughed. "This is so easy," he said with a grin. He then noticed Ciela was staring at Linebeck, who hadn't moved in about two minutes. "Ciela, what's up?" Link asked, confused.

"It's Linebeck," she answered. "I think… he's in shock. He's definitely inarticulate with horror." Link scoffed and rolled his eyes. "That's only because we gave his treasure away for a shortcut that became instantly useless the moment we started establishing child labour."

Linebeck slowly blinked as Biggoron came back with a bucket full of treasure stacked a mile high. "I'll miss you," he whispered softly as a lone tear rolled down his cheek. No one took notice, and Biggoron set his bucket down beside his hut.

"You know, I almost feel like I'm forgetting something, but I don't know why," he said slowly. Just then Gongoron tore out of the Goron Temple with a dark red crystalline object in his hands. A moment later, the entrance burst apart as a large red armoured lizard chased close behind him. Biggoron snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, Dongorongo!" he said brightly. "Knew I'd think of it."

Gongoron suddenly tripped, and the crystal flew out of his hands and sailed straight into Link's waiting arms. Before the Goron could even get up, Dongorongo was on top of him and had swallowed him whole. Linebeck watched with a sickened look as the monster turned and stomped away, and Biggoron noticed the thing that was suddenly in Link's hands. "Oh, hey, you found the Crimsonine," he said. "Well, that's all you need here, right?"

Link nodded. "You wouldn't happen to know where the Anouki live, would you?" he asked hopefully. Biggoron laughed. "Sure I would, they live on the Isle of Frost!"

"It wouldn't happen to be surrounded by ice, would it?" Ciela asked, and Biggoron nodded. "How did you know that?" Link asked in a curious tone. Ciela gestured to the north. "Oh, I can just see it from here," she replied casually. "Hey, sorry about getting your son eaten and all. Any hard feelings?" she asked the elder.

"Nah, I'll figure out a way to get him out. He'll be fine until then," he replied, waving his hand dismissively. "Anyway, I'm going to go count my new earnings, so if you won't be needing anything else then I'll be off!" With a wave, Biggoron turned and headed inside his hut. Link turned to Ciela and Linebeck.

"Well," he said, depositing the metal down his pants as they headed for the ship, "Shall we depart to the Isle of Frost and our next metal?" Ciela bounced in agreement while she ignored the brief sounds of protest that appeared when Link's pocket opened; Linebeck's face, however, was blank. "We can't, actually," he said finally. Link was halfway onboard the boat, but stopped when he heard this. "Wait, we can't?" he repeated.

Linebeck shook his head. "It's a rule in the Book of the Sea: never sail into uncharted waters if you value your own life." Link and Ciela glanced at each other.

"This isn't uncharted water, it's the Southeastern Sea!" Ciela cried. "You're the one who was so damn happy to be here in the first place!" Linebeck shook his head. "Nope, uncharted. I'm not leading us anyplace we don't know anything about. I refuse to sail into new water without a map to guide us."

"Unchar- It's right friggin' _there_!" Link yelled, pointing to the icy island that was plainly visible just a short distance away from them. But Linebeck only shook his head again and disappeared below deck. Before long, the boat was quickly pulling away from the shores of Goron Island.

"Book of the Sea; he's just pissed because we gave away his treasure for nothing," Link muttered as he took his usual spot at the bow. Ciela hovered over his shoulder. "Oh, I agree," she replied. "Wonder where he's taking us now though."

"Oh, that's easy," came the captain's voice from below. "Where else? To the Temple of the Ocean King, to get another Sea Chart."

Link's eyes widened in horror as Ciela sighed. "Oh yeah, he's _totally_ pissed," she said, as Link's shrill scream peaked with a "NOOOOOOOO!" as they sailed toward their inevitable destination once more.


	19. Anger and Arguments

_Yeah, I know I'm late again. At least I'm trying to stick to my schedule though. I'm still a chapter behind, so expect it within the next few days so I can catch myself up. For the record, I don't have any problems with homosexuals; I support them completely. It's all for the sake of a cheap joke, that's all. If this chapter feels a little slow, disorganized, and... fillerish, it's because I wanted to take a tiny peek into Linebeck's past without showing anything; foreshadowing, if you will. Plus, I didn't want to advance the story too much just yet. Anouki next chapter though, promise! Now, that said, enjoy!_

**_Chapter 19: Anger and Arguments_**

"I don't wanna go back! I don't, I don't, I don't!" Link bawled as he hung onto the railing tightly. Ciela fluttered over his head and sighed impatiently. The Gorons' stupidity had been almost too much to handle. This, now, was not helping anything.

"Link, relax. It's not that big a deal, and we'd have to go back sooner or later anyway."

"No, no, no! Bad temple bad! No wanna, no wanna!"

"Link, calm down-"

"Me no go in temple life-sucky! Life value me body pretty! TETRA PRINCESS!"

"Stop cry- Wait, what?"

"No temple! I break Tetra stone with sword! Magic fix her later!"

"Link, _enough_."

"Two more metals! Not worth it! NOT WORTH IT!"

"I swear, one more word…"

"STONE-NIPPLES!"

Ciela grabbed the boy's hair and proceeded to punch him in the face. "SHUT UP!"

Linebeck, who was still rather pissed off about his lack of treasure, noticed the shouting had ceased and loud banging now persisted above him. Confused, he stepped up above and peered out across the deck. What he saw almost made him laugh and vomit at the same time.*

Ciela was smashing Link's face against the railing repeatedly, yelling, "You'll never speak again when I'm done with you!" The boy was moaning in pain while struggling to reach his sword. Linebeck watched for a moment, enjoying the show, before stepping forward to intervene.

Grabbing Link's sword that the boy was still struggling to reach, Linebeck lazily held the point in Ciela's face. "Sparkles, let go or you become a walking fairy from now on. The kid still has an important job to do, and breaking his face is sort of a step backwards."

Ciela eyed the blade distressingly before finally releasing the hero and fluttering to a safe distance. Link gasped and leaned over the railing to catch some water to soothe his disfigured face. Linebeck, satisfied, set the sword down and leaned back over the railing, grinning at the sun's rays. "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" he asked with a smirk as the wind played with his loose hair.

The fairy grumbled. "If that 'important job' wasn't rescuing the Great Sea and saving his best friend, I wouldn't have let go. The sword was also a major factor." Linebeck stared at her for a moment.

"Rescuing the- Oh yeah, that save-the-world thing, right. Yeah, that too," he quickly replied. Ciela stared at him incredulously.

"You are unbelievable! Try thinking about more than yourself or your treasure, you greedy prick!" she yelled at him, and Linebeck's eyes widened in anger. Link, who was still attempting to clean his face and bring down the swelling, was oblivious to this.

"Oh-ho! You're lecturing _me_ on morals? That's pretty rich! You just beat the kid's face to a bloody pulp! And before that you thought you could get away with punching everyone who did anything you didn't agree with! So I'm greedy, but at least I'm not some violent bitch who tries to beat their companions just to see how close they can get them to death!" he countered.

"I have a right to do what I do!" she shot back.

"Really! A right to, do you? And what, pray tell, would this 'right to' be?"

"I'm a Spirit of the Ocean King, you jerk! That kind of makes me more important than you, and besides, I have power that actually _aids_ the hero!"

"Oh big deal, so you can blink now. Whoo," was the captain's sarcastic reply.

"More than you do!"

'I lend you both my _boat_! Your blinking tracking would be pretty useless without a boat, wouldn't you say? I think I win here." Ciela's eye twitched.

"Hey, at least I accompany Link! _You_ just stand around on the boat the whole friggin' time!"

"No kidding! I came with you guys to Retard Island, and how'd that work out for me? Oh yeah! I LOST MY GODDAMN TREASURE!"

Ciela snorted. "Please, you don't come because you're a coward. You're too scared to actually step into deserted and unknown territory."

Linebeck's eyes darkened. "I am _not_ scared."

"Yes you are!" Ciela laughed. "You are to the point where it's pathetic! At least I go with Link and help him!"

"Oh, I'm sure you help him. With your zero experience and violent tendencies, I'm sure you're just a regular Navi, aren't you?"

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Yeah, because you're so much better than me! I'm betting _you _have experience then?"

Linebeck nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes, I have plenty. Believe it or not, before you and the cross-dresser barged into my life, I actually did plenty of sailing around the world. Both on my own, and with an actual crew!"

"Hang on a minute, you had a crew one time?" Link asked. Linebeck was about to answer but stopped to stare at the boy sitting cross-legged in front of him.

"Wait, weren't you washing your face? And for that matter, wasn't it a lot more swollen? And I'm pretty sure I saw a black eye underneath the blood somewhere."

The boy waved his hand. "It's cool, I dug around in my pocket and found a potion from my last adventure. Healed me right up! Anyway, you had a crew?"

Linebeck rotated his gaze from Link, who was staring intently, to Ciela, who was glaring at him, though with slight curiosity. He sighed. He regretted letting that slip out already.

"It wasn't _my_ crew, but yes, I joined with a pirate captain a long time ago. I sailed with the crew for a while, sharing in their adventures, but eventually I decided to part ways with them. I found that I worked better alone, on my own terms; since then, Captain Linebeck does not take orders from anyone."

"Wow, you joined a pirate crew when you were younger? I did too!" Link exclaimed. He then ran his fingers through his hair and leaned casually on the railing. "You must've taken inspiration from me, seeing as I'm the awesome hero I am and you all do nothing but look up to me." Linebeck rolled his eyes and slapped the boy across the face.

As he headed back below deck, he said, "Anyway, my point is I have plenty of experience. Remember that the next time we run into something you can't handle alone." He disappeared from view, and Ciela scoffed.

"Yeah, we'll really need your help cowering in the corner," she muttered, and flew away as well. Link simply stood up, trying to figure out why everyone just left the story circle.

Within moments, the _S.S. Linebeck_ was docking at Mercay Island, and Link jumped off the boat and stretched. He began to walk forward, but noticed a mailbox sitting near the end of the dock swaying wildly. Confused, he approached the box only to be met with a "'Hoy!" from off in the distance. Startled, he spun around. A person was flying towards him, and finally landed on the mailbox.

Link stared at the man incredulously. He was clothed in white, had brown hair, and large feathery wings. "Pit? What are _you_ doing here, this isn't your game!"

Pit shrugged. "I haven't been in a game in like 20 years, so I have to get money somehow. Some Rito offered me a job as a postman, and it's easy enough work, so I figured I'd take it for the time being. Gotta pay the bills somehow, y'know. Anyway, I have a package for you." He pulled a parcel out of his bag and handed it to the green-clad boy.

Link took it, and handed Pit some rupees. "Take them," Link said calmly. "The world can be a dangerous place, and I want you to know that you'll always have help in it." Pit stared at him strangely, then shrugged again.

"I actually have another game coming out pretty soon; this job is only temporary. But hey, fifty bucks _is_ fifty bucks, so no complaints. Thanks buddy, I'll see you around." With that, Pit flapped his wings and took off. Link looked down at the package in his hands and saw it was from the head of the Goron tribe.

Ciela flew over to him as he ripped a piece of paper from the parcel. Seeing it was a letter, Link cleared his throat:

_Dear Link,_

_At least, that's what the angel delivery boy said your name was. Never actually caught it when you were here. Oops._

_Anyway, you will be happy to know that my son, Gongoron, has been successfully expelled from Dongorongo!_

"Damn it!"

_Of course, Dongorongo does not vomit, so he was expelled through 'other' means. Yes, you assumed correctly. Urination. For the record, yes, Gongoron says it hurts _way_ more than you could possibly imagine. In any case, I'm crediting the rescuing of my son to you. Congratulations! _

_As thanks for your obviously hard work, I have sent you a gift. They are called bombchus. They're like moving bombs that you can control remotely. So cool, right? We Gorons are masters of bomb-making. Probably because we're made of rocks and explosions cannot hurt us. Oh well, I consider it a perk, considering my people are already gay, rock-molesting morons. _

_That is all, young Link. I have only one more thing to say to you: 'When the time is right, you will know when to use them.'_

_Well, have fun with the Anouki! After you see them, you'll have to decide whether it's them or my people that piss you off more._

_Be strong, my brother!_

_-Biggoron_

Link folded up the note and opened the package. He examined the bombchus briefly before depositing them and the paper into his pocket. Leaf tried making a break for it when the opening appeared, but Link simply shoved him back inside. He then lit a regular bomb and tossed it down into his pocket for good measure before closing it. "Well, this is fun and all, but I haven't had a drink in like, forever. I'll be at the bar," the boy said, and headed for the nearest building.

"Wait, what? We're supposed to go to the temple! And you can't afford to lose any more brain cells anyway!" Ciela called after him, but he simply shrugged her off and went into the building.

* * *

_Ten minutes later…_

Link stumbled out of the bar, calling over his shoulder, "I love you too Charlie! Watch out for your wife!" It was met with, "For the last bloody time, I'm not Charlie! And _this_ idiot's the one with the angry wife!"

Link zigzagged his way to Ciela and blinked at her. "Weren't we supposed to go get a chart or something? Let's go do that now," he slurred, and he started heading roughly for the temple's location. Ciela merely rolled her eyes and followed, tripping him periodically and blaming it on his shoelaces.

They found themselves at the temple's entrance once again, and Link charged toward the shortcut portal, tripping only twice on the way. He eventually fell into it, and he and Ciela were warped down to the sixth floor for the third time.

Link staggered forward and began his routine, while Ciela watched humorously. He suddenly stopped however, and pulled out his hourglass. He and the fairy both noticed that it had started counting down from _16:00_ this time.

"Oh come on! When did you get extra time?" Ciela exclaimed. Link thought for a moment before pulling out the note again. He unfolded the bottom and read a line he had missed before.

_P.S. Dongorongo wants you to have these 'Sands of Hours' as thanks for the snack. Whatever that means._

Ciela merely facepalmed as Link shrugged and resumed his runthrough. A few minutes later he was where he was last time, with three crystals in front of three pedestals.

As Ciela caught up, Link, still delirious, set the crystals down without paying attention. When he was finished, Ciela looked at his work before smacking him.

"Idiot, you put them on the wrong pedestals! How does a square go into a circle slot anyway?" she asked him, just before a rumbling was heard. A door opened before them, with stairs leading further down into the temple. Link cheered and charged forward, before tripping and tumbling down them.

Ciela facepalmed. "Y'know what, screw this. I can only handle so many stupid things in one go here. I'm getting a drink too." With that, she turned around and made her way back up the temple.

Link, completely oblivious, continued on through three new floors while dodging new Gold Phantoms, which he found could teleport around the room. Finally making his way to the twelfth floor, he found three force gems and placed them on pedestals in a Triforce pattern.

This caused a door to open before him, and Link strode through it just as the last remnants of his buzz faded. Seeing a Sea Chart, he remembered that he didn't even need it yet and considered just leaving it, but then decided that it wasn't worth the backtrack later. He picked it up, deposited it without even a glance at it, and disappeared into the portal that formed.

He reappeared at the temple's entrance and made his way back to the ship. He ran onto the docks just as Ciela exited the bar and came up behind him. Link didn't even notice that she hadn't been with him.

"Can we go now?" the fairy asked, and he nodded. Together they boarded the ship, where Linebeck stood impatiently.

"Well? Did you get it?" the captain asked, tapping his foot. Link drew the chart and threw it at him. "Yeah, here's your stupid map. Now can we _please_ go back to the Isle of Frost? Which was about a hundred metres from where we were?"

Linebeck nodded smugly and disappeared below deck with the chart. A moment later, they were on their way to the Southeastern Sea and the location of their next rare metal. Link resumed his position at the bow and stared out onto the water. That is, until a realization popped into his head.

"Wait a damn minute! I don't _have_ shoelaces!"

* * *

_*Try doing that, I dare you. If you do, tell me the results._

_Yeah, Biggoron's a REALLY bad parent._


	20. The Quirkiness of Anouki

_Hey, we finally hit Chapter 20! As well as an update that isn't somewhere between 11 pm and 3 in the morning! And now I'm caught up again; I just need to do this week's chapter too. See, at least I make up for what I miss. For the record, fairies (in this story anyway) are small human-like bodies with large wings that just glow really brightly. That's why they appear as winged balls, yet still allow me to use references to human anatomy on them. Just so there's no confusion. (Thank you to Starlll for pointing this out to me) Those bombs of theirs are just magical. Have they ever not defeated an enemy or barricade with just one bomb? Ah, they're awesome... Anyway, here's your next chapter, with, as promised, Anouki! Wow, their quirk was actually tough to remember to add in every time. Oh well, I managed it. So, as usual, read, review, and enjoy!_

_**Chapter 20: The Quirkiness of Anouki**_

The boat sailed through the water on its path back to the Southeastern Sea, while Link leaned on the railing at the bow and whistled a random tune. Ciela paced in the air behind him, trying to block out the whistling that was grating on her nerves. This went on for several minutes before Link stopped and turned to the fairy.

"Hey, I just thought of something," he said. Ciela simply sighed. What were the odds this was worse than his whistling?

"Why is it that every time we go back to the Ocean King's Temple, everything has reset? I always have to do the same stuff over and over again. Why does nothing ever stay the same like in every other temple?" he asked. Ciela was baffled.

"You know, I don't actually know. That is in fact an interesting question," she pondered. Link grinned. And here everyone thought he was stupid.

"My guess would be that the Phantoms reset everything when you leave. If anything, just for something to do," she suggested finally. Link shook his head and turned back to the sea, mentally cursing Phantoms for their lack of having anything better to do.

He began his whistling again and continued until they arrived at the Isle of Frost, at which point Ciela was considering hitting him with an anchor. Fate seemed to deny her of that joy though, as Link stopped to marvel at the ice chunks that surrounded their destination.

"So… Now what?" he asked, and Linebeck appeared on deck. He examined the ice briefly before pulling up the cannon and taking aim. Firing a single bomb, they watched as it sailed over to a large piece of ice before shattering it. In a chain reaction, every other piece somehow blew up as well, quickly leaving the path to the dock clear. Linebeck just smirked confidently as he put the cannon away and went back below deck without a word, and Ciela gritted her teeth at having him do something right. With their obstacle defeated, they quickly docked before something else could happen, and took their first look at the Isle of Frost.

Ice was everywhere, and the harsh gleam of white stung their eyes. A cool wind breezed by them, bringing a chilling air down their backs which caused them to shiver. Igloos dotted the northern bit of the island, and strange creatures walked everywhere. As the trio disembarked, one of them stepped forward to meet them. It had a purple penguin-shaped body and a fish tail, with a head that looked like it was covered with the hood of a parka. The most distinguishing features however, were the large set of reindeer-looking antlers mounted on its head, and a large beard growing off of its face. Looking around, Link saw that the other creatures were beardless, and that their bodies were a light blue. _Wonder what makes this guy so special_, Link thought.

"Welcome, visitors, to the Isle of Frost guy! I am the Island Chief and head of the Anouki guy!" the elder introduced. Link frowned. _Oh, that's why._

"Hey, I'm Link, the ever-popular Hero of Winds. And these are my sidekicks, Ciela and Linebeck," Link replied, gesturing to the others behind him. They both hit him on the back of the head. The Chief laughed and began walking toward his village. The trio quickly caught up to him and fell into step.

"Listen, we need a favour," Ciela told the elder. He nodded, and the fairy continued. "We have need of a pure metal called Azurine to vanquish a great evil, and we've heard rumours that the Anouki once possessed it." The Chief nodded again.

"Yes, we do have the Azurine guy. Bellum's forces have tried to take it, though we repelled them guy. The ice wall we had crafted around our island was a way to keep the evil at bay guy."

"Why do you keep ending every sentence with 'guy'?" Linebeck asked, and Ciela and Link nodded. The Chief shrugged. "Just our accent guy," was his only reply, and they all sighed in unison.

"So, can we have the metal then? We really need it to kill Bellum," Link said, and the Chief nodded once more. Stopping at the centre of the village, he turned and faced the three of them.

"We'll give you the metal, but only if you help us first guy," he answered. "You see, we're at war with another tribe on this island, the Yook guy. Recently, which was about a half hour ago, one of the Anouki went missing and a Yook is now impersonating them in their place guy. The only problem is that we don't know which Anouki went missing guy. So we need your help to find out who the imposter is guy."

"Really? So one Anouki is actually a fake and we have to figure out which? Out of _all_ of these?" Linebeck asked sceptically, glancing around at the many creatures waddling around them. "Is there nothing else to go off of?"

"Oh, of course there is guy!" the Chief laughed. "First of all, we know that the Yook is in one of the houses in the brand new Anouki Estates, at the north end of our village guy. That narrows it down to six guy. Second, Yook always lie, while Anouki are incapable of lying guy."

"We're just supposed to take your word for it? We know nothing of your species, maybe some of them can," Linebeck questioned as two Anouki walked by them.

"I slept with your wife guy," one of them said, and Linebeck raised a brow.

"That's alright, I slept with you after you passed out at last week's party guy," the other replied, while the first one stopped walking and stared at him. Linebeck was speechless for a moment before crossing his arms. "Fine."

"I would recommend going to Anouki Estates and just asking a few questions guy," the Chief told them. "That should create some confusion and may unmask who is currently masked guy."

"Fine, let's go do this," Ciela told the other two, and they headed off in the direction of the Estates, Linebeck keeping far away from the rapist Anouki that was currently whistling an innocent tune.

* * *

_Six interviews later…_

Link, Ciela and Linebeck were seated back at the village square, with Linebeck jotting down on a scrap of paper what each Anouki had said. "Well, this shouldn't be relatively hard," he said, looking at the facts.

"Well duh, since I'm clearly the only one here with a brain who actively uses it. I'll figure out who it is," Ciela replied. Linebeck looked taken aback.

"Hey! You know what I do when you two are gone in a temple or something and I'm alone on the ship? A book of those really hard mind-puzzles! They're a great way to pass the time and make you super-smart, so I think I'll be the one to figure this out," the captain explained. Link just stared at the paper, baffled.

"Okay, fine, let's both do it then, it might go quicker," the fairy relented. Linebeck smirked and looked at the paper again.

"Not that it should be too bad anyway, since five Anouki said "Aroo's acting funny guy," and Aroo said "I didn't do it." I think the answer's pretty obvious here," he summarized. Ciela nodded.

"Yeah, actually, that is pretty easy. Geez, even Link could figure that one out," she added. Link, however, suddenly stood up and screamed.

"Great Goddesses of Hyrule, this is impossible! I can't do this, it's too much pressure on me!" the boy yelled to the sky, and took off toward the Estates just as the Chief came over to them.

"Have you figured out who the imposter is guy?" he asked. Ciela and Linebeck looked at each other before glancing briefly toward the Estates, where screaming could now be heard.

"Er… _We_ did, but Link is having a bit of a meltdown," the fairy answered. "It's kind of a side effect from having such low intelligence."

The Chief nodded. "Good, good guy. Now that that's taken care of, we can move onto the matter of the metal guy. It's conveniently in-" He was cut off as Link returned, his boots splattered with flecks of blood, while more dripped steadily off of his sword.

"I took care of it," Link told his partners. "Just started hacking at faces until one of them turned out to be a mask. As it turns out, Aroo was actually a Yook. Also, I took off more than the mask when I slashed at his face, so don't go in his house. All the other residents are safe from the Yook now. Or they would be. Coincidentally, Aroo was the last one I investigated. Now that I think about it, don't go in any of the houses. Also, I think I'm addicted to murder now."

Linebeck tried to resist the urge to vomit while Ciela facepalmed. The Chief, however, didn't hear a word of it. "Say again guy? I'm old and can't hear very well guy."

"He just said that every house in the Anouki Estates became available, so be sure to let the other Anouki know," Ciela said quickly before Link could repeat his murderous tale. "As well, Aroo is the one missing."

"Aroo guy! The Yook must've kidnapped him guy! You must rescue him guy!" the Chief cried. "The Yook live on the east side of the island, and-" Before he could say another word, Link took off towards the east, screaming, "WOOHOO! MORE THINGS TO KILL!" Linebeck and Ciela shared a sigh.

"Right then, we'll go get Link and Aroo, and then you give us the Azurine," Ciela told the elder, and he nodded in agreement. With that settled, the fairy and the captain turned to follow the trail of blood that had continued to drip off of Link's blade.

Within a few minutes, the duo had found a large ice field, where multiple bodies lay strewn around, bleeding profusely. Linebeck again had to control his gag reflex as they took notice of the multiple wounds on each body. Up ahead, they saw another of the monsters charge at Link, who quickly impaled him and drove the weapon up to his neck. With that, he flicked his wrist, and the head flew off while the half-severed body fell to the ice and began to stain it.

As they approached the 'hero', he turned to greet them. "Yook are ugly, and they look like snow monsters. You know, those big ones that live in mountains? What're they called?"

"Yetis?" Linebeck offered, and Link snapped his fingers. "That's it."

"Good Lord Link, you made a disgusting mess," Ciela said as she wrinkled her nose. Link looked around at the butchered Yook bodies all around him. He hadn't remembered there being that many.

"Maybe I was a little busy," he agreed as he sat down. Grabbing some snow, he began to clean his boots and weapon. "But I didn't find Aroo. On the bright side, I did find the entrance to what I think is another temple. Which is more than you guys have done!"

"Yeah, it's not like we figured out without massacring the residents of the Estates who the real imposter was," Ciela replied sarcastically. "But whatever, if you think we aren't helping enough then I'll lead for a while."

"Oh? And where are you leading us? That cave that's right over there?" Linebeck asked doubtfully.

"Ya darned tootin'," she answered, and his heart sank. "I'm assuming that's the temple anyway. Maybe we'll actually accomplish something this time," she added as they headed for the entrance.

Link snorted. "Yeah, right. Why start now?" he asked to no one in particular as they walked through the doorway and disappeared from view.


	21. A Fairy's Wrath

_Okay, here's a question: why, on average, am I getting only one review per, oh, let's say 400 hits? Honestly, NO one can review? You read from start to current and you have NOTHING to say about the story? I mean really, even if it's as little as "I like this" or something along those lines; just say SOMEthing! I was so proud of my numbers this month, but once I thought about it, the hit/review ratio (or even visitor/review ratio!) was just abysmal! I'm actually a little hurt that almost no one has ANY feedback after 20+ chapters. You all have nothing at all to say?_

_Okay, I'm done ranting. I was just REALLY surprised, that's all. Here's this week's chapter; on time, believe it or not. It was originally going to feature part of the next chapter, but I decided to cut it to make them more balanced. I don't really have anything to comment on, except for the grappling hook. I was playing Mega Man 4 yesterday, and there's this one item that lets you grapple to the ceiling and just hang there for no reason. I was having far too much fun with it, and it carried over here. I wish I could do this in the game… Anyway, enough of that, so let's just dive into the chapter. As usual, read, REVIEW (even once, it's not that hard!), and enjoy!_

_**Chapter 21: A Fairy's Wrath**_

"Well, this is… cold," Link commented as they strolled through the temple's entrance room and examined the architecture.

"It's a cave of ice, you moron! Of course it's cold!" Ciela retorted. "Now where is this boss? If this is a temple, then it's got to have a massive treasure, which means a massive guardian to protect it."

Linebeck's eyes lit up. "Let's kill the guardian and take the treasure! And then look for Aroo later. Or we could just leave at that point, and tell everyone that Aroo died."

"With Link rampaging around and annihilating everything that moves, we can't even be sure that it's a lie," the fairy commented. Link crossed his arms.

"Unless the real Aroo was in the Estates, then he has to be somewhere. And I doubt he would be in the Estates when there's an imposter there as well. But wait; there were only five real Anouki. If he _was_ there, then that means someone else was missing! It's so devious, it _has_ to be the answer! Guys, we're looking for the wrong-" Ciela slapped Link before he could finish.

"No we're not, we're looking for Aroo. Now shut up," the fairy ordered, and Link closed his mouth. They walked further into the temple and noticed many etchings on the walls. Almost all of them depicted a two-headed dragon and some random stick figure getting killed, to Linebeck's dismay. The word _Gleeok_ was also written everywhere, and even Link was able to put the two together.

"So Gleeok is the big dragon-thing, right?" he asked uncertainly, and Ciela sighed.

"Yes Link. Gleeok is the big dragon-thing."

"Okay, just checking," the hero replied, and they wandered around some more before coming across the boss door. Ciela made a satisfied noise that she found it within five minutes of being leader, before turning to Link.

"Alright, here's the entrance to Gleeok's chamber. Bust in, slay its heads off, and let's get rich." Linebeck cheered as the fairy said this, though Link shook his head.

"Not a chance in _hell_. A giant dragon, okay, sure. A giant _two_-headed dragon? Not gonna happen pal, no way. I'll be busy looking at one and then the other one will eat me! Nope, not getting killed so you two can get rich. Not worth it," he said, crossing his arms in disagreement.

Ciela stared at him in disbelief. "You've taken down _how_ many giant monsters in your time as a hero? Like four since you've been trying to rescue Tetra, never mind how many you did in this 'last adventure' you're constantly mentioning. This is right up your alley!" Linebeck just wandered around with a bored expression throughout all of this.

"And that's exactly why I'm not going in there," Link countered. "I've fought enough giant guardians to know when I'm in over my head. You don't know what it's like, you've never fought one of those things! You go in there and kill it if you're so sure it can be done!"

"Fine, I will!"

"Good!"

"Watch me!"

And with that, Ciela flew toward the door and slipped through the keyhole. Link remained fixed on the spot where she had been floating as Linebeck came over to him. "Okay, I'm back because it sounds like you guys are done. What'd I miss this time?"

Link was silent for a moment before bursting into laughter. "She thinks she can go and kill Gleeok herself! I give her ten seconds before she's eaten!"

Linebeck's eyes lit up as he thought about something Link obviously didn't consider. "I'll take that bet. I give her five minutes, and if she's still alive, you owe me 50 rupees."

Link looked at him for a moment before grabbing his outstretched hand. "Deal. Now, what to do in the meantime? I guess we could go- Ooh! Go look in those chests!" He ran towards the two chests he just spotted, and Linebeck followed with mild curiosity.

Throwing one open, Link pulled out the boss key. "Why do they keep doing this?" he asked quizzically. "What is the purpose of putting this _right beside_ the door?"

"This has happened before?" Linebeck asked, puzzled. Link nodded. "Yeah, it happened back in the Temple of Fire too. Stupid strategy."

Putting the key to the side, he opened up the other chest. "Aww, sweet! Grappling hook!" he cried, raising it into the air as the 'BA-DA-DA-DAAAAAAAAA!' played. Linebeck looked around the room.

"What was _that_?" he asked, and Link shrugged. "I hadn't done that in a while, I missed it."

Linebeck shook his head. "Alright, so what's so good about having a grappling hook?"

"Because I can do this!" With that, Link threw the hook at the ceiling. When it clamped, he climbed to the top and gathered the rope behind him. "Now you can't get me!" he taunted with a laugh. Linebeck simply facepalmed.

"Well, I'm taking the key to see how Sparkles is doing. Feel free to join me when you decide to grow up," the captain told the ceiling-clinging boy, and walked off with the key. Link remained up at the top for a moment more, humming the theme to Spider-Man, before crying, "Wait! Don't leave me in a temple alone!"

Linebeck arrived at the boss door and inserted the key as Link caught up with him, shoving the hook in to his pocket. Neri quickly flew out as if she had been waiting right at the opening, but the green-clad boy quickly grabbed her and stuffed her back in before she got anywhere.

The door slid open with a rumble and the men were greeted with roaring. They cautiously proceeded forward and up a flight of stairs before coming out into a large cavern. They were standing on a chunk of ice while the rest of the room was coated in chilling water. This was quickly observed however, as their attention was drawn to the thrashing that was going on in the middle of the room.

Gleeok was throwing its heads around, trying to hit the small fairy that was darting in between them. The remains of what looked like masks floated in the water around them as Ciela quickly dove in close and proceeded to punch the life out of the red head. It roared and tried to bite the nuisance, who sped out of the way, and quickly breathed a blast of fire in her direction. However, she dodged effortlessly and began attacking the blue head. Linebeck and Link stared in fascination at the effortlessness of the fight.

The blue head quickly fell, breathing an icy blast before dropping lifelessly at the feet of the men, while Ciela went back to the red head. It was a few seconds later that it fell as well, lying beside its brethren. Suddenly, they both exploded in flash of light, and sand appeared where they once were. It quickly collected into the Hourglass that Link had drawn, which read _18:00_ before flipping down. Link pocketed the Hourglass as Linebeck turned to him.

"She's alive. You owe me 50 rupees," he smirked, holding out his hand. Link groaned and pulled out his wallet. "How did you know?"

"Easy, I just remembered when she kicked your ass two chapters ago when you were freaking. I didn't think a two-headed dragon was that different," he replied. Ciela flew over to them as a bridge appeared across the water.

"There, problem solved," she said. "Now, pathway open. Let's collect that treasure." Linebeck needed nothing else said, and ran across the bridge and disappeared through the doorway on the other side. Link and Ciela quickly followed, but not before they heard the captain yell, "Oh come on!"

The duo caught up to the captain, who was holding a blue crystalline object in his hands. "The Azurine," he said with a dull expression to his companions. Link threw his hands in the air.

"Sweet, that's bizarrely convenient!" he cried, taking the metal and doing the 'BA-DA-DA-DAAAAAAAAA!' again.

"Stop that," Ciela told him. "And what's that doing here? The Chief never mentioned that he didn't have the metal on hand! What the hell, he could have just told us it was here instead of doing all of that crap with the Yook!"

"And in hindsight, since the kid slaughtered everyone anyway, that really was just a setback," Linebeck added, and the fairy cried in frustration.

"Whatever, let's just get out of here. Look, there's another door, let's see where it goes," said Ciela, and she flew through the door with the other two following.

It led into another cave with an exit at the other end. The noticeable thing though was an Anouki gathering ice off of the ceiling in the middle of the room. The trio just stared at him before Linebeck finally asked, "Um… Who are you?"

The Anouki looked over in surprise. "Oh guy! I didn't expect visitors guy. I'm Aroo guy. Can I help you guy?"

"Yeah, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be missing!" Ciela demanded. Aroo looked confused.

"Missing guy? No, I've just been here, collecting ice guy. My tea was too hot, I was trying to cool it down guy. And there's no better or cleaner ice than in this cave guy," the Anouki explained, and everyone collapsed.

"Son of a bitch! _Everything_ we did here was entirely pointless! We could've just come here, grabbed the metal, and left!" Ciela cried, frustrated. Linebeck shrugged.

"Oh well, we have the metal now, and we found Aroo. Now, let's go find the Chief. Maybe _he'll_ give us something since we found his missing penguin…thing," he replied, and Ciela sighed.

"He damn well better," she muttered. "C'mon Aroo. We need you as proof to the Chief that we found you."

"Oh, that silly Chief guy," Aroo laughed as he followed them out of the cave, ice in hand. "He always assumes I've been kidnapped when I leave to get cooling ice guy." Seeing that Ciela was about to explode from more pointless stupidity, Link and Linebeck grabbed the unaware Anouki and raced ahead of the fairy.

* * *

Once they finally arrived out at the village, Link approached the Chief as Linebeck explained to Aroo that he would have to scrub down his house interior. "Look, we found Aroo," the hero told the elder, gesturing to the confused Anouki.

"Oh, wonderful guy! And the Yook have told me that they're ready to end the war guy! They say that they've been under some sort of mind-control, but it's been lifted guy. What great news for everything guy!" the Chief exclaimed, clapping his flippers together. "Now then, the metal is kept safe in-"

"Yeah, we know, we got that too," Link told him as Linebeck strolled over to them and Ciela finally caught up. "We were hoping for something as thanks for rescuing Aroo."

"Oh, of course guy!" the elder agreed. "I shall tell you the location of the lost Cobble Kingdom guy." Link looked expectantly at the Chief. _Hadn't Zauz said something about a kingdom? I wonder if they're the same one. I mean, how many kingdoms could there be?_

"North guy," the Chief said simply. Ciela and Linebeck just stared at him with flat expressions, while Link quickly weighed the odds. Seeing that it was at least a place to start, he grabbed the captain and the fairy and led them toward the ship. "Thanks, we'll go check it out," he called over his shoulder.

"Good luck guy!" came the elder's response, and Ciela scoffed.

"Yeah, thanks for the huge prize for doing what you wanted. Dick," she muttered as they boarded the _S.S. Linebeck_. "Why did you suddenly want to leave?"

"Because Zauz mentioned a kingdom before too, and I think they're the same one," Link explained. "Which means that it's our best bet at finding the last pure metal and getting that sword forged."

"So, we _are_ going north then?" Linebeck clarified, and Link nodded.

"It's time we checked out the Northeastern Sea," he said, and Linebeck shrugged before going below deck. Within moments they were pulling away from the Isle of Frost and headed north towards their new destination. Link stared determinedly out over the bow, his thoughts on the petrified girl below deck. The sooner they found that last metal, the better.


	22. Ruins of the Dead

_Wow, university takes up a lot of my spare time! I'm totally not surprised at all! Anyway, here's another chapter. Honestly, there's not too much humour in here; I just could not, for the life of me, think up a quirk for the knights. So I compromised and just blew right through them. This chapter's basically plot advancement, though I took another look into Link's emotional side. Yes, he's an idiot, but not all the time; he does have his clever and caring sides as well. Anyway, I tried throwing in a joke here and there, but you tell me how well I managed. I'll try and do better next time, promise. Stupid knights, have to be so flipping hard to write about... Oh well. Here's chapter 22. Read, review, and enjoy!_

_**Chapter 22: Ruins of the Dead**_

As the trio sailed on, Link twiddled his thumbs while situated at his usual spot at the bow. His thoughts were still on the metals they were collecting, and the inevitable confrontation with Bellum. The thought of returning to the Temple of the Ocean King yet again filled him with dread; he was so sick of that place. However, if he wanted to ever save Tetra he knew he'd have to. It didn't mean he wasn't allowed to complain about it though.

Sighing, Link pulled out the two metals he already had and set them in front of him. The Crimsonine reflected the sun's rays, displaying a deep glow around it; by contrast, the Azurine gave off a brilliant light that looked almost like the sea. Link stared at them as something suddenly occurred to him. He struggled to remember something from his past and squinted in concentration as Ciela came up behind him.

"Red is first, blue is second," Link mumbled, still trying to grasp the thought that was eluding him, "Pattern recognition across the ages kicking in once more…" He opened his eyes as it finally came to him. Hearing Ciela fluttering behind him, he spun around and glared at her.

"I swear to the Gods, if the last metal isn't green I'll tie you to the anchor and drown you. Because it's all your fault for being yellow!" he yelled at her. She made a confused noise but Link spun back around before she could say anything.

"I'm friggin' yellow, get used to it!" she yelled anyway. Link ignored her and pocketed the metals. Getting up, he walked over to the cabin and yelled down the steps.

"Hey! We almost there? I'm bored and need to find the last metal so I know if I can drown Ciela or not!" Ciela glared and smacked Link across the head.

"Yeah, we're almost there, relax," Linebeck answered, coming around from the side of the cabin. Link stared at him in confusion.

"Okay, whenever you walk away from the wheel, _who_ is steering us?" he demanded. Linebeck simply shrugged.

"All I do when I leave is plot the route, and the ship follows it. You may think it looks junky, but my baby actually has a number of tricks and surprises in her. Like a small computer ages before its time," he replied while stroking the cabin gently. Link continued to stare at him.

"What! I get bored down there, sometimes I want to watch the goddamn ocean too!" the captain told them, and Link finally looked away, noticing a pair of large islands quickly approaching. The bigger of the two had a large tornado just in front of the dock, and Link groaned.

"What is with the stupid tornadoes on this ocean?" he demanded.

"Actually, when they're water-based, they're technically hurricanes," Ciela corrected. Link ignored her again and turned to Linebeck.

"So, can we just sail through it and hope for the best?"

"And damage my baby? I think not. Tough luck kid, we're going to the smaller one," the captain replied as he walked below deck to take them there.

"Wonder what it's called," Link wondered aloud as they slowly turned westward toward the smaller island. "Isle of the Dead," Linebeck answered from below, and Link paled. _That's encouraging,_ he thought as they approached the island's dock.

After they had stopped, Link hopped onto land and looked around. There was a graveyard immediately north of them, which Link decided to steer clear from. A pyramid sat at the northeast corner of the island, which he ran toward, while Ciela and Linebeck followed. Upon reaching the entrance, Link stared into the darkness and, figuring it was still better than the graveyard, walked in.

A long torch-lit corridor stretched before them, which opened in the distance. As the trio made their way through the dark tunnel, Link saw a tomb laying in the room ahead and swallowed audibly. The corridor ended and they found themselves in an open room in which the coffin sat. Shaking slightly, Link approached it to open it, but yelled in surprise as a ghost appeared over the tomb. Breathing heavily, Link clutched his chest as the fairy and captain approached the coffin as well.

"Greetings," the ghost announced. He was shirtless and his lower torso wore a yellow skirt. Dressed in ancient Egyptian garb, he towered over even Linebeck. "I am Brant, the fourth knight of King Mutoh."

"You're the what?" Linebeck asked, confused. The ghost sighed as if this was a common question.

"Long ago, when King Mutoh was in power and the Cobble Kingdom was a great nation, the four best knights in the army were given positions in the kingdom's dealings. We were also charged as the King's bodyguards. Of those four, I am the fourth ranked knight," Brant explained. "And despite everything I did for that idiot, I still had to have _my_ tomb here on this crappy island, while he and the rest of them are on _his_ island. What a prick! I mean, I'm important too!"

"That doesn't seem fair," Ciela replied. "How about this: we'll go tell this king off for you, if you tell us if there's any way to get around the hurricane that's in front of the island."

"Tornado," Link corrected. Ciela punched him.

"Oh, that would be wonderful, thank you," Brant said, bowing his head. "To get past the tornado, you need a Regal Necklace. Here, you can take mine." He gestured to a chest in the corner of the room, and Link proceeded to collect it. "I wish you luck, and I pray I may share time with you three again." With that, he disappeared, and the trio turned to leave. Ciela smirked as she let the others notice how well her plan had worked.

"Well, that was easy," Link commented. "Now we can get to the… other place."

"Isle of Ruins," Linebeck supplied. "Seriously, next time _look_ at the chart before just throwing it at me. It may help." Link rolled his eyes, and they exited the pyramid and headed for the _S.S. Linebeck._

A few minutes later, they were moving away from the Isle of the Dead and Link was pacing around the deck, once again bored. He sighed as he looked around. Ciela was sitting atop the prow, watching the waves silently. He turned away and noticed that Linebeck had once again left the cabin and gone around to the stern. Link hesitated, then thought of something to occupy his time. Checking to make sure both Linebeck and Ciela were focused on the water and not paying attention, he silently descended the steps below deck.

The cabin was an open floor with some crates pushed up against the walls and a bathroom in one corner. The wheel sat against the wall beside the stairs, facing the direction of the bow, with an engine control stick beside it. A periscope sat raised above it, explaining how the captain could navigate when down here. There was a table near the wheel that had the Northeastern Chart open on it, with some charting notes Linebeck had sketched here and there. The man had also stacked a small shelf of books against one wall, and a cupboard full of food sat beside it. Next to the wheel though stood what Link had come down to visit.

Tetra's petrified body rested in the corner next to where Linebeck steered, her scared expression staring frozen at Link's miserable face. He took her outstretched hand gently, cringing at the touch of stone. She was a rock, yet like this she seemed so… fragile. It hurt the boy to look at her this way. Memories of his neglect for her safety came flooding back as he tried to push them away. Wasn't he trying as hard as he could to fix this? Didn't that count as redeeming himself? He hoped so; he didn't want to have Tetra free only to blame him for everything that had happened anyway.

Even though they often quarrelled, she had been the first real friend he had had that was his age. It was something he enjoyed, and secretly treasured no matter how often they argued. He thought back to the time Ganondorf had taken her in Hyrule. He had hated himself for leaving her alone, for even thinking that the King of Evil couldn't reach her when his power had been returned to him. He had sworn then that something like that wouldn't happen again. And yet…

Link bit his lip as he fought back a tear. Now wasn't the time to get emotional. There was still a job to do, one more metal to collect. Then he was going to kick Bellum's sorry ass and make it up to Tetra as best he could.

Footsteps were heard on the stairs, and Link quickly let go of the pirate's hand and shuffled over to the bookshelf and pretended to be interested. Linebeck appeared and noticed Link. "What're you doing down here?" he asked curiously.

Link shrugged casually. "I was bored, just wanted to look around," he replied, a little too quickly. "Are we there?" Linebeck nodded and took the wheel in hand. Link forced a grin and ran up above deck. Linebeck watched him go, then pulled down the periscope to begin docking. However, it wasn't before he noticed that the dust on Tetra's outstretched hand was gone.

They arrived at the Isle of Ruins, and the tornado quickly dispersed from the dock. They landed with no trouble, and Link quickly jumped off the boat before anyone could notice his state. He quickly calmed himself and resumed his usual appearance as the captain and fairy disembarked as well. "So? What first?" Linebeck asked.

Ciela looked around, puzzled. "I can see four more of those pyramids. But half of the island is underwater! I can hardly see any paths, but I think we can get to that one," she said, gesturing to a pyramid at the northwest corner of the island. Link shrugged and slowly led the way there as the other two followed, navigating around the water and zigzagging forward.

It was a few minutes later before they arrived at the crypt. Link simply walked right in as the fairy and captain shared a look before following. Inside there was another tomb, and a ghost appeared as they got closer. He, like Brant, was dressed in Egyptian clothing.

"I am Bremeur, the third knight of King Mutoh," he said solemnly. "Why have you come to this land of death?"

"We need to talk to the king, and Brant sent us here," Ciela explained. Bremeur nodded.

"Oh, 'kay. Well, the King is sort of pissed because some monster is in his temple or something, so you may have to deal with that. I dunno, Doylan may know more. I'll use my ghostly powers to teleport you there. Because ghosts can totally do that," he said. Before anyone could reply, there was a flash of light.

When the trio opened their eyes, they were standing before a different tomb. A different ghost appeared, surprised. "Who are you?" was his only question.

Ciela sighed. "Bremeur teleported us here," she replied. Doylan blinked.

"Oh. Well, I don't really want visitors. If you're here on official business, go deal with Max. I'm only the second knight, I don't have to deal with this," he answered. "Oh, take this key to him. He'll know what it means," he added, and tossed them a giant key. Linebeck caught it right as another flash appeared.

When the trio could again see without seeing spots, they saw that they stood before yet another tomb. A different ghost was staring at them, bored. "I'm Max, the first knight," he sighed. "Bremeur and Doylan are being stupid again?"

"Sure," Linebeck answered. "Here, Doylan gave us this key. He said you'd know what it meant." Max looked at the key and his eyes widened. Taking it, he placed it in a keyhole behind him, and a loud rumbling was heard. Seeing that the others looked alarmed, Max sighed again.

"It's just raising the island above the water, so that King Mutoh's temple is again reachable," he explained. "The only thing I'll tell you is this: the sacred crest is a really crappy crown. Now, I'll teleport you straight to the King's temple." As the others began to protest, Max clapped his hands, and yet another flash of light appeared.

Link opened his eyes and blinked rapidly. "Okay, that's blinding," he said crossly as he tried to look around. He gasped as the other two opened their eyes as well. They were back outside, standing before the largest pyramid on the island. There was a giant door blocking the entrance, but a panel stood beside it. Remembering what Max had just said, Link traced a crappy crown shape onto the panel, and then it lit up. The door lowered into the sand, and Link shrugged.

Turning to his companions, he asked, "Alright, are we ready to finish this?" Ciela flew around eagerly, and even Linebeck nodded with a determined smile. Turning back to the entrance, Link braced himself, then with his head held high, led the way into the complex temple.


	23. The Maze of Mutoh

_Finally, another chapter is up. University's a bitch on time, I tell ya. I think part of the delay as well was that this chapter's contents seemed like a wall between now and the end of the story. Which isn't too far off actually, I'm thinking about seven more chapters or so. Now, when I first played Phantom Hourglass, I thought it was a blast. However, to this very day, Eox STILL pisses me off. Not that he(it?) was hard; it's just that the very idea of him(it?) makes absolutely NO sense! Whatever, I know I'm not the only one who thought that. Still remember those other two, Leaf and Neri? Think of how long they've been trapp- er, 'stored'. I'm sure they're fine though. I don't think they have therapy established yet anyway, so for their sake they'd better be fine. Anyway, rambling aside, let's get back to the fabulous adventure of the trio! Read, review, and enjoy!_

_**Chapter 23: The Maze of Mutoh**_

"Okay, this is just boring," Link commented as they strolled down yet another corridor. "Are we done yet?"

"Link, we've been walking for like, two minutes. This is the third hall we've walked down, chill out," Ciela replied. The trio slowly made their way down every passage that appeared to them as Linebeck carefully tracked their progress on a map he was drawing.

True to its nature, the pyramid was an absolute labyrinth inside. Splits in the multiple passages were abundant, and it was clear very quickly that this temple was not to be taken lightly. So far they had found nothing of value or interest besides the occasional skeleton, which had everyone wondering how they could've gotten into the temple when everything was underwater. Not to mention being guarded by a huge tornado.

"But it's sooo dull in here!" Link continued. "Seriously, how long can you go before you're sick of looking at sand and sandstone?"

"About two minutes, apparently," Linebeck muttered to himself as he continued to sketch his map.

"Link, you're the one who wanted to "finish this" and get through this last temple," Ciela reminded him.

"Yeah, so?"

"So shut up and go finish it if you're bored!"

Link cringed. "Fine, I will," he said quickly, and jogged ahead of the group. After leading them down a string of corridors and getting himself lost twice, they finally came out into a larger room. There was a chest in the middle, which Link quickly raced over to. Linebeck, meanwhile, set his map down and leaned against a wall to rest briefly. "This will pay off in the end," he kept repeating to himself, mentally cursing the maze. "Boatload of treasure, boatload of treasure…"

The hero threw the chest open and gasped. Inside was one of the most magical and awe-inspiring things he had ever seen. He pulled it out and threw it into the air, yelling, "Freakin' awesome, a kickass hammer!" He caught it and flashed a grin as the 'BA-DA-DA-DAAAAAAAAA!' resonated around the room. Linebeck glanced in his direction strangely as Ciela simply raised a brow in confusion.

To answer the fairy's unspoken question, Link grinned even wider. "It's a hammer! That means I can just smash all sorts of crap to pieces! That's like, on par with stabbing things till they explode like a meaty balloon!" he cried enthusiastically. "Any enemy we see is pancake-isized!"

Ciela ignored the awfully butchered word and addressed an issue that had been confusing her since they entered the temple. "Now that you mention that, have either of you actually _seen_ any enemy in here so far? It's been awfully empty."

Linebeck shrugged from his wall. "It's a friggin' maze, they probably got lost until they starved. Or drowned, if that water had anything to say about it. Either way, we're probably going to be quite alone for a while."

"Ah well, I'll just save this fun for later then," Link said casually, stuffing the hammer down his pocket. A lit bomb suddenly flew out and landed in front of him. "Son of a bitch!" he cried in alarm, and kicked the bomb away quickly. It struck the opposing wall and exploded, leaving a blast mark and a sizable hole.

"Damn it dude, the cursed one still lives!" a muffled voice spoke, originating from Link's pants. Link shared a confused look with his partners as another, higher voice replied.

"Don't worry, don't worry, we'll just hit him with something else the next time he grabs something and then we'll make our great escape and get as far away from this unspeakable horror as is humanly, I mean fairy…ly, possible!"

"Uh…" Link trailed off, then waved his hand quickly. "I'm sure that was nothing, that bomb was never here. Totally your imaginations. Anyway, we should get back to moving. Let's go this way!" He pointed down a random corridor and quickly walked down it. Linebeck and Ciela shared a concerned look before following.

A few minutes later they were continuing their trek in an uncomfortable silence before Link blurted out, "I'm not in denial!" The other two stopped and looked at him.

"What the hell are you going on about _now_?" the fairy asked with a sigh.

"Nothing! I'm totally not in denial either!"

She sighed again. "Lord, you're demented."

Link blinked and then narrowed his eyes. "Wait a minute, what do you mean 'demented'? I'm completely sane!"

"Oh really?" Ciela asked sceptically. "You've claimed to talk to- no, hold conversations with- no, _argued_ with a boat before."

"So?"

"You stuff everything from a key to priceless metals down your pants."

"Um…"

"You have a portal of the damned as a pocket, that you entrap two helpless spirits like me inside at all times."

"…Shut up. I'm still sane," the boy finally replied and walked on. "And who said it's a portal of the damned? Don't assume, you don't know!" he added as he turned a corner.

Linebeck was silent for a moment before letting out a low whistle. "Wow, you're right. He _is_ nuts," he said as they followed the hero around the corner. "I'm just sayin'," was the fairy's reply.

They both noticed that Link was standing before a large locked door. A giant key in his hands as well as an open chest lying beside him filled in the blanks. Ciela sighed as they neared the boy and asked, "Again?" Link just nodded. "Again."

"Whatever, let's just bust in and take care of business. I may want that last metal more than you do, kid," Linebeck said, taking the key and inserting it in the lock. The chains fell away as the heavy door slid into the ground, and Link cracked his knuckles and entered.

A long staircase greeted him, familiar from so many other battles before. He climbed it slowly with his companions following behind him. When reached the top, they entered into a huge circular room filled with sand. Link turned around and, as expected, a concrete slab sealed itself across the top of the staircase.

"Well, this is… actually surprising. There's nothing here," Link commented. "Maybe there _was_ no boss, and this King Mutoh guy was just in a really pissy mood. Unless the boss is invisible like Crayk was. Which would put _me_ in a pissy mood."

"No, I'm pretty sure I remember Bremeur saying that there was a boss to be conquered-" Linebeck was cut off as a loud rumbling sounded. From the centre of the room the sand parted, and a giant stone head appeared. It rose into the air as a body followed it. Moments later, a huge stone behemoth stood before them. "Oh, wait, there it is."

"Spirits help us!" Ciela cried. "That thing is huge! What in the Ocean King's name are we supposed to do against it?"

"Well don't ask me, this is my first time!" Linebeck screamed. Ciela gave him an odd look, and he quickly elaborated. "In a boss fight, this is my first time in a boss fight!"

"Okay, so you and I have no ideas. Alright Link, it's all you," the fairy said as she turned to the boy. However, the latter said nothing; a blank stare sat on his face. "Link?" Ciela called again.

"I remember…" he said finally, and Ciela blinked in confusion.

"Come again?"

"_'When the time is right, you will know when to use them.' _I remember now," he said again, and his eyes suddenly fixed themselves determinedly on the great being before him, which had up until then had slowly been lumbering their way.

His hands dove into his pocket and pulled out the bombchus. Setting them all on the sand facing the giant, they suddenly took off and raced as fast as they could towards their target. When they made contact, the echo of the explosions was amplified all throughout the room.

When the smoke cleared, the beast was still standing. However, cracks had formed all over its body, which soon led to the stone crumbling off of him. Underneath was a simple wooden frame, which quickly collapsed into a large pile. Link smiled savagely, Linebeck cheered, and Ciela simply stared.

"Wait, _what_? A giant wooden frame with a stone body? And it can _move_? That's a logistical impossibility! Wood can't move if it's just wood! Furthermore, the added weight of stone would make it so heavy that it _couldn't_ move! Not with wood supporting it! _And_, if it WAS just wood supporting it, the stone would have shattered it immediately! As a whole, that simply makes the least amount of sense I have _ever_ seen!" the fairy ranted angrily.

Linebeck shrugged. "Maybe ghostly magic did it?"

"WOOHOO, more stuff to kill!" Link cried, and jumped onto the pile of wood. Drawing his sword, he began to stab and slash at the frame, determined to hack at it until nothing was left. This went on for a couple of minutes before the wood pile exploded into glittering sand.

"Aww, I wasn't done," Link moaned as he drew the Hourglass. Holding it in the air, the sand quickly retreated inside, while the timer flipped up to read _20:00_. "For all that matters now, I know I can clear that temple in less than eighteen minutes," he mused as he pocketed the artefact. As he did, a spot of sand cleared to reveal a staircase. Glancing at his companions, who shrugged, Link hesitantly descended it as the others followed.

The basement below led to another, larger tomb on a raised pedestal. Link, prepared this time for a ghost appearing, did not flinch when it did. However, he did gawk at the sight of him.

"Good _God_, you're fat! And I thought the King of Hyrule was big! Put on a shirt, tubbo!" Link cried in disgust at the ghost. The latter glared at him.

"These chestless sleeves are just fine, thank you very much. And who the hell are you? Who is stupid enough to speak to King Mutoh with such a disgraceful tone?" the ghost thundered. Link's eyes lit up in understanding.

"Oh, _you're_ King Mutoh. Well that explains it. Being overly fat must just be a king thing," he thought out loud. Seeing the King's eye twitch, Linebeck quickly stepped forward and shoved Link to the side. "Forgive him, he's an idiot," he answered quickly. "We have come before you with a favour, O mighty king."

"Suck-up," Ciela muttered as Link stood back up. "And you'd better help us, we took care of that colossal beast for you," she added to the king.

Mutoh gasped in anger. "You destroyed Eox? Do you have any idea how long it took me to build him, to get stone to stick to wood (even when there was no wood behind it), to make him _move_?"

"No, I don't!" the fairy yelled back. "In fact, I have a question or two about that project of yours!"

"He was my favourite creation! He was like nothing the world had ever seen!"

"How did it move." Ciela said flatly.

"Why, with ghostly magic, of course."

"I knew it," Linebeck mumbled to Link, who gave him a look of confusion. Grabbing Ciela before she exploded, he said, "Look, the point is, we've come for the rare metal you have. We need it to kill some freak called Bellum."

"Pfft, fat chance I'll give you my Aquanine. Give me one good reason why I should," Mutoh countered.

"We just took out a giant impossible golem! You damn well better give over the metal, or I'll go Ghost Ship on your ghostly ass!" Ciela screamed at him. Mutoh looked at her dully without a word.

"The Gorons and the Anouki offered over their metals," Linebeck added, and Mutoh frowned. Snapping his fingers, the metal appeared on the floor below him.

"Fine, I guess if they contributed to your cause, I should too," he mumbled. "Now, there is still the matter of-" He was cut off as another voice rang out with, "Mutoh!"

Mutoh spun around just as Brant flew through the wall behind him. "Why do I have my tomb on some friggin' crappy island when everyone else camps out with you? I did more than any of them! I died in an assassination attempt on _your_ life! So you stuck me on the Isle of the Dead?" the fourth knight yelled.

"Well, yeah, we needed a place to keep your body. To be fair, none of us had died yet; we didn't know our bodies would end up here," Mutoh replied with a shrug. Brant faltered.

"Wait… So you wouldn't mind getting my tomb moved over here then?" he asked, and Mutoh shrugged again. "Sure. I mean, you took twenty arrows to the chest for me. It's the least I can do."

"Oh. Alright then," Brant said, and floated towards the staircase. He passed the trio with a "Hey guys," and disappeared from view.

Mutoh cleared his throat. "Anyway, as I was saying before, I don't want the remnants of my kingdom to die out. I wish to know if descendents of my people are still alive today," he said. "I expect this information as a trade for my metal, so even if you must travel around the world to find them, it _will_ happen."

"Who do you want to know about?" Link asked curiously, and Mutoh furrowed his brow in thought.

"Let's see… Cobble people are each born with a special talent. One of them is a fortune-teller by the name of Astrid."

"Oh yeah, we met Astrid," Link nodded. "She said something to Linebeck that spooked him for a while." The captain glanced away as Mutoh continued.

"Excellent, that is most promising news. The other is a master blacksmith, able to forge any weapon in no time at all."

"Sounds like Zauz," Link answered again. "We'll be on our way to see him soon, as a matter of fact." The king nodded his approval.

"Very well, my descendants are still alive to this day. That is all I needed from you. You may take the metal and use it however you need. I will now return to my slumber, because I'm dead and have nothing better to do. I wish you all luck on your journey," Mutoh said as he began to disappear back into his tomb. "Except for you, you fat-hating prick," he added to Link as he finally dispersed.

Link shrugged off the insult. "Not my fault you're pleasantly plump." He walked forward and grabbed the Aquanine off of the floor. He held it in the air with a grin. "We did it! We got the last metal! And it's green!" He turned quickly to Ciela. "You get to live another day…"

"Right…" the fairy trailed off. "So we have all three metals. That means we finally have the second component to creating the Phantom Sword!"

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Linebeck asked excitedly as a warp light appeared. "Let's hurry up and get it made so we can finish this job! The sooner I get my wish, the happier I'll be!"

"And the sooner I get Tetra back, the closer I am to having this nightmare finally over!" Link grinned with a fist pump.

"And the sooner Bellum's dead, the sooner I'm away from you two forever!" Ciela exclaimed, thrilled, and they all let out a cheer. "Let's finish this!"

So they ran into the warp light and were taken to the entrance of the pyramid. They made their way to the _S.S. Linebeck_, which was much easier since the island had been raised. Boarding quickly, Linebeck set the engines on full and blasted away from shore. All of them were quivering with excitement as the things they most wanted suddenly seemed very close at hand. Soon, the Phantom Sword would be crafted, and Bellum would stand no chance.


	24. That Forgotten Thing

_There we go, finally an update! This chapter is definitely the longest one yet, but it's a flurry of action and emotions. I really wanted to dive into Linebeck's past though, and it just turned out to be this long. Honestly, I always thought he was a good guy; my favourite character in Phantom Hourglass, easily. So you can blame that on the lack of funny in the second half. I tried at the end though, so tell me what you thought. We're getting to the end now everybody! I have the rest of the story divided up contents-wise into the remaining chapters, and we're down to six! I think the updates will come quicker now that we're at the end; I'll be in a rush to continue the action. For now, read this LONG chapter, make sure you review and let me know your thoughts, and get ready for the beginning of the end!_

_**Chapter 24: That Forgotten Thing**_

It was a couple minutes later when Link and Ciela heard the captain yelling from below. They rushed below deck to find him hunched over the Northeastern Sea Chart and muttering furiously. Turning around at the sound of footsteps, he advanced on Link and said, "I need to see your other Sea Charts. I need to double-check this before my brain haemorrhages."

Link cringed and pulled out the other three charts. Without a word, Linebeck took them and placed them on his table with the fourth. Laying them all out and examining the Great Sea, he swore after a few seconds. "Damn it to hell, there _is_! There's a huge string of rocks in our way!"

The boy and fairy examined the map as well and groaned. A long line of rocks cleanly divided the northern seas and ended only at the northern tip of the Southwestern Sea. Linebeck threw up his arms in disgust. "We'll have to go all the way around, which'll take hours," he said crossly to the pair.

Before he could reposition the ship though, a loud croaking was heard. The three of them looked at each other in confusion before running out onto the deck. A golden frog sat in the water in front of them, croaking loudly. "It sounds like you could use some help," it said in a scratchy voice that made everyone flinch.

"Oh? And what can you do?" Linebeck asked sceptically. The frog dove under the water and swam around before resurfacing beside them.

"I happen to know the art of twisterism," it answered. "There are five other frogs like me throughout the sea, and we can warp ships to each other. We live to help, so if you need a warp, simply say."

Link looked around nervously. "Uh, okay. I guess we need a warp. To the Northwestern Sea, if that's doable."

"Of course it is!" the frog croaked excitedly. "Just hang on, and I'll send you on your way!" With that, it dove back under water and swam in a bizarre pattern. No sooner had it finished than a giant tornado appeared under the _S.S. Linebeck_. Before anyone could object, it quickly picked them up and catapulted them into the sky.

Each of them was pressed against the deck, screaming as loudly as they could as they were hurled back toward the water. They shut their eyes as they braced for a violent impact; however, the ship touched down in the water with relative grace. They opened their eyes and stood up slowly, observing the waters around them. To their surprise, they were between Bannan Island and the Isle of Gust. Zauz's Island lay just in the distance, which Linebeck immediately set sail for.

"Well that was oddly convenient," Ciela commented as they approached the beach. Link simply shrugged. "Whatever, it just cut off like, three hours of sailing. I'll take it any day."

Within minutes they were docked at the small island, and Link tore across the beach to the small house and jumped inside the doorway. "Zauz-guess-what-we-got-all-three-metals-and-now-we-can-make-the-" he stopped and saw that Zauz had his back to him at the fireplace. "Have you even _moved_ since we left?"

"Of course I have," the swordsmith replied casually as Ciela and Linebeck joined them. "It was simply coincidental timing. Now, you were saying that you had the metals?"

"Oh, yeah, we have the metals," Link remembered as he pulled them out of his pocket. A note was stuck to the Crimsonine, which he pulled off before handing the metal over to Zauz. "'_Death to Green, you will die… Death to Green, you will die…_' Huh. That's all it says, just repeated three hundred and… forty-six times. Probably means nothing," he shrugged, tossing the note into the fire.

"Oh, your ancestor is glad to know that you're doing alright Zauz," Ciela said idly. Zauz, who had taken the metals over to the burning fire, turned and looked at the fairy oddly.

"Mutoh, your ancestor? The king of the Cobble Kingdom? Gave us the Aquanine?" Ciela offered. "He told us that you're of Cobble descent."

"I am?" Zauz asked in mild surprise. "Well that's kind of depressing. I thought I was just skilled at what I did, not that it was something I was born with like every other one of my people. Still, I guess it's better than being the dead king of a sunken kingdom."

"Hey! Don't talk about the King of Hyrule that-" Link stopped when he saw everyone was staring at him in confusion. "Oh, wait. I mean, Mutoh, that way. He's, uh… A good guy. And stuff."

"Link, Mutoh hates you," Ciela reminded him. The boy just smiled in remembrance and nodded. "Yeah…"

"Getting back on track, forging the Phantom Sword will take quite a bit of time. I suggest that if you have other errands to attend to, you do them now." Zauz pumped some air into the flames and they tripled in size. Grabbing the Azurine, he sat in front of the inferno and set to work.

The trio left him to his job and left the house. "We don't _have_ anything to do that'll kill time. What're we supposed to do? Just sit around on the ship?" Ciela wondered aloud. Something caught her eye and she squinted at it. "Hey, what's that speck over there that seems to be heading this way?"

Both men followed her gaze and studied it intently. "I think it's another ship," Link replied, "but who else has a ship around here?" Both Linebeck and Ciela seemed to come to a realization at the same time: Linebeck swallowed audibly while Ciela yelped loudly.

"Oh friggin' hell, Link! We forgot about her!" she cried, and Link stared in confusion.

"Forgot about who?"

"Jolene, Link! We were supposed to encounter her several times while searching for the metals, and this was supposed to be the final showdown!"

"Who in the hell is Jolene and how do you know this?"

"Oh, she's a pirate captain or something. Grandpa told me all this _way_ back when he told me who Zauz was and what we had to do after we got Tetra."

"…Oh," was the hero's response. "There's something wrong with every pirate captain on this sea being female… So what do we do then? Linebeck, you're a captain, you should talk to her." His comment was met with silence, and he turned around. "Linebeck?"

A slamming was heard from the direction of the _S.S. Linebeck_, and they looked at each other, puzzled. They boarded the ship and made their way into the cabin. A large crate that sat between the wheel and the petrified captain was visibly shaking, and Link threw the lid off of it. Linebeck was crouched inside, trying his best to be small and invisible. "_What_ are you doing?" Ciela asked flatly, and Linebeck's head snapped up at them.

"Hiding! What does it look like?" he replied quickly. "Jolene is a murderous, bloodthirsty pirate. Or at least she dresses as a pirate and pretends to be one. But say what you will about the girl, she's _really_ good at the pretending bit!"

"I think he'd have a good idea on this," Link said to the fairy. "He _is_ a captain of the sea, he's probably heard plenty of stories about her."

"Actually, I've seen it firsthand. Way back when we were kids-" Linebeck was cut off as the sound of water lapping on the shore reached their ears. "Oh, that's not a good sound," he whispered meekly. Link gave him a curious look.

"That would be the sound of another ship approaching the island," he explained. "Just hope that she isn't planning to dock-" He was cut off again, this time as a loud "LINEBECK!" pierced shrilly through the air.

The captain squeaked and shoved Link away. Grabbing the lid of his crate, he set it gently in place above his head and stayed silent as the female voice rang out again. "You had BETTER be here this time, you slippery bastard!"

A thud was heard above them, and Link mouthed '_She's on the ship!_' to the fairy, who nodded vigorously. Footsteps were heard on the stairs, and a tall woman quickly appeared in the cabin, a curved cutlass in her hand. She had jet-black hair and very tan skin, with a sleeveless white shirt that exposed her midriff and tight green shorts. Long earrings dangled from her ears and jewellery adorned her wrists.

"Ganondorf!" Link cried, drawing his own sword and charging the intruder. The woman glanced at him in surprise but quickly sidestepped his assault, which resulted in Link tumbling into the stairs. Ciela simply stared in utter disbelief; she had never seen bouts of stupidity reach these levels.

"It's NOT Ganondorf! She's a goddamn woman!" she yelled at Link. The boy picked himself up and shrugged. "People make mistakes."

"She's the third person you've thought was Ganondorf!"

"She is not! It's an isolated accident!"

"First Bellum, then Zauz, and now Jolene," Ciela recapped. "Face it, you're an idiot."

"Enough!" Jolene shouted at the two. "I'm looking for the spineless captain of this piece of garbage. Tell me where he can be found, and I won't harm you."

Link weighed the choice in his head. "And if we don't?" he asked with a curious smile. Jolene raised her sword threateningly.

"If you choose to hide him from me, I shall use brute force until you either reveal his location or die in the process," she replied simply. Link drew his shield and picked up his sword.

"I don't know, I haven't had a decent swordfight since I wound up here. Except for Mudd, but that doesn't count. Maybe I want a challenge," the hero said with a dark grin. "Though I doubt you could give me one," he added mockingly.

Jolene took a couple steps forward and slashed the air in front of her. "I've taken down opponents four times your tiny size with ease. This won't take long at all."

Link simply kept grinning. "Come at me, bro."

Ciela facepalmed as Jolene smirked, and charged at Link before he could even blink. Surprised at her speed, Link thrust his shield toward her, but she nimbly jumped to the side and stabbed at his head.

Link quickly hit her blade down and countered with a swipe at her ankles, but she jumped and kicked him in the stomach. As he doubled over, she rolled away and spun to face him. Link took a viciously heavy swing overhead and she had no choice but to block it directly. The sound of the blades meeting rang throughout the cabin, and Jolene buckled slightly. Gliding his sword down away from her, she tried to connect Link's head with her hilt, but he ducked and swung his legs around. Catching her behind her shins, she fell back and lost her grip on her weapon. Link quickly sprang up and swiped at her chest, but Jolene rolled away before the tip could pierce her skin.

Grabbing her sword once more, she flipped to a standing position and cartwheeled away. Quickly catching her breath from her little bout of acrobatics, she swiped at Link every time he tried to come near. Link finally brought his shield to bear, and while blocking her strike he swiftly made to stab at her. To his disbelief however, she executed a perfect backflip away from him. He gritted his teeth and tried a new strategy. He took a couple steps toward his foe, then unexpectedly threw his shield forward. Jolene's eyes widened as she hit the floor to avoid being struck by the heavy projectile, then jumped back up to parry Link's advance.

They went back and forth at each other, almost in a bizarre dance, before finally locking blades and staring each other down. Then, in unison, they both slid by each other and tried to get the other in the back. Their blades once again made contact and the sudden hit sent a bad rattle up to their hands. Seeing that the other was, for the briefest moment, shaken, they took a kick at their opponent's weapon. At once, both swords sailed away from their owners, sliding to opposite walls where they came to rest.

Jolene jumped back from Link and panted heavily. "I don't… believe it…" she gasped as she tried to catch her breath. "You actually… held your own… impressively well…" Link flashed her a grin while he rested with his hands on his knees.

"And I have to say, I've never met someone so agile, who throws acrobatics into their swordplay. Sort of an unexpected challenge," he finally managed to say, and Jolene, despite herself, smiled at the compliment.

"You'll never meet another pirate like me," she said with a wink. Walking over to her misplaced weapon, she flipped it up with her toe before catching and sheathing it in one movement. "Truth be told, I wasn't planning on killing you; I just wanted a good fight. You sure presented one kid, and it was an unexpected treat. So for that, I'll admit defeat. You can write this one off as a win in your books."

Link nodded with a grin as he retrieved his own weapon. Jolene casually strolled over to the crate and added, "Besides, I always knew where that coward was." Facing Link with a dry smile, she hit the lid of the crate off and pulled the shaking man out with one hand.

Linebeck fell to the floor and quickly scurried away. "Why do you keep following me, you crazy witch?" he cried as he sprang up behind Link, keeping the boy between him and the woman who was now glaring death at him. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

"_Haven't done anything wrong_?" the pirate roared, advancing on him. Linebeck quickly stepped back and almost tripped over his feet. "I've been tracking you for months! I've chased you across this goddamn ocean more times than I can count! I finally have you cornered on your own boat! And you tell me you think you haven't done anything _wrong_?"

Linebeck thought for a moment. "Well, unless you mean that _one_ thing…" he said slowly, and Jolene's eye twitched violently. Seeing that her head may well catch on fire from the anger she was building up, Link quickly guided her back from the captain a bit. The pirate seemed to be too focused on trying to find the words to describe her rage to notice.

Ciela quickly interjected. "Look, let's talk through this, shall we? As much as I'd like to see what you plan to do to him, we sort of need him alive to help us. We aren't _quite_ done with our quest yet, and Link can't operate a boat."

"Like hell I can't!" Link retorted. "Give me a Wind Waker and I'll sail us around the moon!"

"I don't know what that even is, but I'm guessing it involves harnessing wind power, which is scientifically impossible in this age. And besides, we don't have a sail, we have an engine. Your argument is useless and you still don't know how to operate a steamship."

Link blinked a couple of times. "Fine, talk it out then," he said, bored.

Ciela turned expectantly to Jolene, who sighed impatiently. "Alright, fine. First off, we've known each other since we were little, so we used to play as kids. As we grew up we sort of drifted apart. When we both turned eighteen we sort of went our separate ways, and I thought that was the last I'd see of him.

"But then, about a year ago I guess, I was out on the sea and being attacked by a giant Octo. I thought I was dead, but then this ship comes out of nowhere and crashes into the thing! The Octo retreats, I'm saved, and I'm thinking that I owe my life to whoever was in the boat." She jerked her thumb to Linebeck, who was smiling nervously. "Guess who it was."

"You actually did something brave and saved her?" Ciela asked incredulously. The captain chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"Actually, I was still getting familiar with my boat at that time. I had seen the monster and tried to get away, but I screwed something up and ended up plowing right into it. The entire thing was sort of an accident," he admitted. Ciela facepalmed.

"Accident or not, he still saved me," Jolene continued. "So I invited him to sail with me for a while. We travelled around for a few months, having adventures, finding treasure, getting a bit of a crew as well as a reputation. Things seemed to be going fine."

"Sounds like it," Ciela agreed. "Seems hard to believe something could change that."

"My thoughts exactly," the pirate replied. "And yet, they did." She glared again at Linebeck, who looked away guiltily.

"So after a few months, over dinner, I asked if he'd maybe consider sticking around indefinitely," she said, and despite herself, turned a bit pink. "I mean, we'd had a lot of fun after not seeing each other for years, and I thought maybe he'd like to keep it that way. But he never really gave an answer. He got a little nervous, finished his meal, and quickly left. I didn't know how to react, but I just figured we'd talk more about it later.

"But then, he went and changed _everything._" She stared daggers at the captain, who now couldn't look her in the eye. "I went to look for him, to apologize for taking things a bit fast for him, but I couldn't find him. Instead, I found that something was missing from my room, a lifeboat was gone, and a small speck was disappearing into the distance under the moon's light!" Ciela gasped and turned to Linebeck.

"You stole from her and then fled?" she asked, not daring to believe it. Linebeck sighed and nodded slowly. He made his way over to his bookcase and pulled a wooden box off of it. Opening it, he tilted it and showed the contents to Jolene, who's expression softened slightly. "I still have it," he said softly. "I never got rid of it."

Jolene's eyes had many emotions racing through them. Link, however, grabbed the object out of the box and snorted. "Wait, you stole _this_?" he asked, staring at the fluffy pink bunny in his hands.

Linebeck's eyes narrowed. "What! It was so adorable, I enjoyed looking at it from the first moment I saw it! When I decided to leave, I dunno, I just grabbed it. It was completely on impulse."

"It was my favourite and most cherished possession," Jolene finally spoke. "It was something he gave me when we were children, and I thought him taking it was symbolic of something."

Linebeck blinked. "Actually, no. That was a complete coincidence." He grabbed the bunny back from Link and walked slowly over to the pirate. "I never got rid of it because I actually regretted taking it from you."

"You actually had an honest emotion?" Ciela cried. This was becoming too much for her to process.

Linebeck ignored her. "I know you've been chasing me for months. I always fled because I figured you'd sooner kill me than listen to anything I'd ever have to say again." He stopped before her and held up the bunny. "So… Here you go?"

Link and Ciela held their breaths as Jolene stared at Linebeck. For a moment no one said anything. Then the pirate quickly hit the bunny out of the captain's hands.

"You idiot!" she cried. "I haven't been chasing you for months just because of some stupid stuffed animal! All I wanted to know was why! Why you just disappeared without so much as a reason!"

Linebeck blinked in confusion, and Ciela sighed. "You really don't get women, do you?" She turned to Link before he could speak. "Don't say a word, you're no better."

Linebeck sighed. "I don't know why I left. I guess I was just scared, like always. Thinking of the exciting and dangerous lifestyle you led, I guess I just didn't want to be a part of that. I valued my own skin too much to actually register much else. So when you invited me to stay permanently, I just…"

He sighed again. "I actually do regret it, you know. What I did to you? I've been living with that guilt every day. I wanted to explain to you, but I was still scared. You kept chasing me, and once again I chose my own safety over my fear." He looked Jolene in the eye and swallowed. "I know how much I hurt you. I know it likely won't undo anything, but for what it's worth anymore… I'm sorry."

Link and Ciela again held their breaths as they watched the scene unfold. Jolene's eyes watered as she threw her arms around the captain and pulled him into a hug. "You are, aren't you?" she sniffled. Linebeck nodded and slowly returned the hug. "I really am."

"Awww," Ciela smiled. "They finally worked it out! Looks like Linebeck actually has a heart after all, huh?"

"Yeah, good for him," Link replied lazily. "You think the sword is done yet? This took a while, I'd think that's enough time to create the most powerful weapon ever conceived."

The fairy shrugged. "I guess we could go check," she said. Glancing at the pair who were still in the moment, she hurried Link away. "We'll just leave them."

The two of them trudged back up to Zauz's house where steam was billowing from. As they entered, the swordsmith turned to face them. "Okay, I turned my back for like, _two_ seconds, I swear. Seriously, what sort of metal melts in two seconds? I wouldn't think rare metal, since it's so _rare_, but hey! What do the Gods know about creating swords? I don't see them doing it!"

Link's jaw dropped. "You MELTED the Phantom Sword?"

Zauz snorted. "Nah, I'm just kidding, it's right here." He pulled a blade out from behind him and presented it to the Hero of Winds. "There it is, forged from the three rarest metals on the Great Sea. I've never done a better job on a project in my life."

Link frowned as he took it. There was a fearsomely sharp point on one end of the blade, but the other simply had a small post. "I think I need a hilt to actually hold it. In my experience, swords work better when they have hilts to hold on to."

Zauz shrugged. "For some reason, I can't get any hilt to work with it. It's odd, but then that _is_ a magic blade. It probably needs something special with it. At any rate, I've done all I can."

Link smiled and shook the smith's hand. "Well, thank you Zauz. We couldn't have done it without your help."

Zauz smiled in return. "I wish you the best of luck in your confrontation with the Evil Phantom, young Link. I shall be cheering for you until the end."

Link nodded in understanding and turned to leave. He and Ciela made it back to the _S.S. Linebeck_ only to find Linebeck and Jolene talking on the deck, the pirate holding the bunny in her hand. As they boarded, Linebeck turned and noticed the hilt-less blade. "…Missing something?" he asked finally. Link shrugged.

"We'll take it to Osh, I'm sure he'll know what to do," he replied. "In the meantime, we head back to Mercay!"

Jolene grinned at the boy's enthusiasm. "Linebeck told me all about your journey. I hope you rescue your friend Link, I'll be backing you up in your corner." Turning to Ciela, she added, "Linebeck tells me that you're Ciela, and you're abusive towards him." She grinned. "Don't stop."

"Hey!" Linebeck protested, and the pirate stuck her tongue out at him. Hopping from the deck onto her own boat, she quickly took off, calling out, "I'll see you soon Linebeck!"

"What did that mean?" Ciela inquired. Linebeck simply replied with, "Don't worry about it."

Link stared at her boat and exclaimed, "She has a cannon on the bottom of her hull?"

"Yeah, it lets her shoot bombs like torpedoes," Linebeck replied as he went below deck. Starting the engine, he set sail for Mercay and smiled to himself.

After many months, he finally confronted his fear and restored one of his closest friendships. He could tell he was going to be in a good mood for a _long_ time to come.

But sadly, nothing lasts forever. His thoughts were interrupted as the boy and the fairy raced into the cabin, both yelling.

"You told her my name is Ciela? _You_ never call me Ciela, it's always 'Sparkles'! Why am I bloody Sparkles, you just proved that you know my name! Jolene calls me Ciela, be more like Jolene!"

"What the hell, why do we have only a crappy cannon? Get a torpedo launcher, that thing could kick the ass of anything on the Great Sea! Not to mention it's covered in AWESOME!"

Linebeck sighed. He was so glad this stupid journey was almost over.


	25. The Final Descent

_Told you they were coming fast! I'm so excited that we're finally here! Not much I can say about this chapter, except that it sets up the grand finale that begins next chapter. From there, the action gets rolling right through to the end! Excuse the slight shortage of humour (in my opinion), a lot of this was just preparation. Still stuck a joke where I could though. Let's not put this off any longer though! Make sure you review and let's continue on!_

_**Chapter 25: The Final Descent**_

Thankfully, Mercay Island wasn't too far away. It was only a short half hour later that they returned to the same place that Link had washed up on weeks ago. The boy even stole a glance at the beach in front of Oshus' house as they sailed by to the dock. _How fitting that it all ends here too,_ he pondered as he disembarked the boat.

"Alright, so now what?" Linebeck asked as he and Ciela walked off the boat and followed Link. The hero spun around to face them and grinned.

"Now, we find Osh, we figure out how to complete the Phantom Sword, and we go slaughter the life out of Bellum! He's dead, Tetra's rescued, we call it a day and eat some lunch!" He kept grinning until a red conch staff whacked him on the head from behind.

"For the last time, don't call me Osh! Clean the crap outta your ears, boy!" an elderly voice spoke from behind him. Link spun around and spread his arms wide. "Hey, Osh! We were just talking about-" The boy was cut off as Oshus took a baseball swing at his head and smiled at the impact.

"You'll learn yet," the Ocean King muttered under his breath. Louder, he said, "So, if you've returned I can assume you succeeded in acquiring all three of the Pure Metals?"

"You bet!" Ciela responded happily. "And we got Zauz to forge them into the Phantom Sword as well!"

"The only issue is that it still seems a bit… unfinished," Linebeck added. "As in, it seems unwieldy. Is there something we're missing?"

Oshus nodded with an amused smile. "I'm surprised none of you have figured out what's missing yet, the very name is an indication." When he was met with three blank stares, he continued.

"Think back to when I first informed you of the Phantom Sword. Did I not tell you there were two components to the creation of the blade?" Linebeck's eyes lit up.

"And that we already had one of them!" he finished. Link finally understood and drew the Phantom Hourglass. Without a word he handed it over to the Ocean King, who studied it intently.

"Hmm, I see that you've collected a total of twenty minutes worth of sand," he noted with mild surprise. "That should give you plenty of time to make it through the temple with ease. Now then, where is the sacred blade?"

Link grinned and reached into his pocket. Pulling it out quickly, he held it into the air as the mysterious tune sounded, 'BA-DA-DA-'

Oshus swiped the blade out of the air with surprising agility, cutting off the sound. "Hey!" Link protested. "Don't cut that off! How many more times am I going to be able to do that?"

"Bellum can attack at any time," the old man replied crossly. "We don't have time for you to screw around." He laid the blade in his open palms and examined it closely. "Such a beautiful shaping…" he said, more to himself than to anyone in particular. He grabbed it by the post and began swinging it around wildly. Link cried out and dropped to the ground to avoid being cut in the face as the elder ran all over the market swinging the blade back and forth while making action noises. After a few minutes he wandered back over while nodding happily.

"Yes, that is a fine blade, that should do well," he said finally. Stepping back, he held his staff out, and the hourglass and blade rose forward to hover in front of it. Slowly, they began to rotate in a vertical circle, gradually picking up speed. Oshus raised his hands to the sky and the two objects became almost a blur as they circled round and round. Blue lightning began to emanate from the force between the two, and with a clap of the Ocean King's hands they collided into each other in an eruption of white light.

Everyone covered their eyes as the flash obscured everything around them. After a few seconds Link opened his eyes to see a silhouette of a sword floating down from the air, tip facing the ground, towards him. The light began to fade and everyone could make out the mystical blade. It stopped at Link's height and hovered there, as if waiting to be held. Finally, Link reached out and hesitantly touched it, before grabbing the hilt and slashing the air a couple of times.

He looked at the sword with fascination before suddenly running away. When he was across the market he held up the weapon while shooting a dirty look as Oshus and cued the 'BA-DA-DA-DAAAAAAAAA!'

"Dick," the old man muttered.

Link walked back over to them, still admiring the piece of magical steel in his hands. The hilt was a deep blue with a small yellow hourglass symbol imbedded into the crossguard. The symbol of the Ocean King was adorned on the blade, just above the hilt. "The Phantom Sword," Oshus said proudly.

"Wow…" Link was at a loss for words. That is, until he suddenly thought of something and looked at the old man. "Is it better than the Master Sword?"

"Eh. It's on par with it," Oshus replied casually. "Now listen up. Rare metals and mystical sands are fused together. With this weapon, you can now directly attack Phantoms. Hit them in the back, where their armour is thin, and they should be destroyed. As well, because this sword was infused with the Sands of Hours, it will continue to protect you in the fog. It also has other powers, but you cannot yet utilize them." Link frowned at this. "However, I think that you may not even need them. You have matured much since you first set out on your goal, and I believe that you be the one to liberate the Great Sea from the evil that plagues us." Link slowly smiled while the Ocean King turned to Ciela.

"You, my dear, have certainly grown over the past few weeks. You've regained your status as the Spirit of Courage and been an invaluable asset to Link's journey. However, as you are probably aware, you are not yet whole. There is still part of your memory locked away, some piece of you that Bellum is in possession of. If you are able to defeat him, it is likely that you will regain them and finally return to being whole." Ciela pondered this while Oshus turned to Linebeck last.

"And finally you, Captain Linebeck. You may not be aware, but I can see into your heart. I see you deny it, but you have also changed greatly. Though you claim to do it out of greed, you continued to help this young boy in his seemingly futile quest to destroy one of the most powerful evils on the sea. Travelling with this young lad has softened that lonely heart of yours. I can see that you've let many things in your past go, things you've been riding with for years." Oshus smiled. "I can also see that you're a great deal happier inside. It makes me think that something in your life has drastically changed. Recently, I might add."

Linebeck looked away, embarrassed. Oshus chuckled and turned away. "I have not forgotten my promise to you either, Linebeck. At Bellum's defeat, should Link succeed and restore my powers, I shall grant you one wish."

The captain flashed a grin as the Ocean King walked away from them towards the direction of his house. "I shall hopefully see you all quite soon." With that, he disappeared from view.

The three of them looked at each other slowly as they weighed what the man had said to each of them. "Wow," Link finally spoke. "Hearing those speeches, I guess… We're almost done, aren't we? There's only one more thing to do, and then we'll likely head off in different directions. I'll probably return with Tetra to try and find our ship…"

"I'll stay with Grandpa and serve him with Leaf and Neri. As best they can, anyway. They may need to have their memories wiped or something. But anyway, I'll probably go where the Ocean King goes and continue to protect the people here," Ciela added.

"As for me, I'll be sailing off into the sunset with more treasure than I'll know what to do with. Maybe I'll buy my own island like Zauz, live in peace. And I'll start making it up to Jolene for the months she wasted chasing after me. I was afraid to stay with her before, but I think she'd be alright with sharing a whole island with me," Linebeck finished. He looked at Link and grinned. "Alright kid, this is it. You need to go down into that temple, find this evil that's messing with everyone, and you slay it good, got it?"

Link nodded determinedly. Linebeck nodded back. "Now, let's look at this for a sec. You have the Phantom Sword, which means you'll be protected. That fog apparently doesn't affect Sparkles, but I know for a fact that it does me. On top of that, I'm not sure what help I'll be against this thing, so I don't think I'll be able to come with you." Seeing Link's face fall, he went down on one knee and clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Believe me when I say I'd be happy to join you. I'd actually love to take a look at this thing for myself. But realistically, I wouldn't make it there in time before I bit it. So I'll just have to settle for sticking around here and cheering you on." Link finally nodded in understanding. He knew that Linebeck was right; there was no way for them both to be protected by the hourglass' power. "Besides," Linebeck grinned, "You'll have Sparkles to keep you company."

Ciela rolled her eyes, but for once didn't argue. Linebeck stood up and said, "Alright you two, go get a move on. The sooner this ends, the better." Link smiled and turned around. With his head held high, he marched forward. Right towards the bar.

Linebeck shrugged and headed towards Oshus' house. He decided that if he couldn't accompany Link, he'd at least get a few questions answered. Ciela, however, quickly caught up to Link and screamed, "What are you _doing_? You're going to go up against Bellum drunk? You won't last a minute!"

"Relax," Link said confidently. "I'm not getting drunk, I'm being realistic. Everyone's expecting me to win this fight, but there _is_ still the chance that I could die. Just in case that happens, I want one last drink. A good-luck drink, if you will."

Ciela sighed and stopped before the doorway. "Alright, fine," she answered, and Link headed in. It was only a few minutes later that he came back out, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Ciela was actually surprised that he had kept his word. He must really be in a heroic mood right now.

"Later, Charlie! I'm off to liberate you so that you may serve drinks again tomorrow!" Link said with a wave over his shoulder. As they left, the bartender cried out, "Why does everyone think my name is Charlie? It's Steve!"

"Ugh, my wife's going to skin me alive…" another voice said.

"For the love of all that's holy, you've been here for weeks hiding from your wife! She _knows_ you're here! Go home already!"

Ignoring this, the pair strolled up the all-too-familiar route to the Temple of the Ocean King, and Link was hit with a wave of nostalgia. All of those other times he had charged at the temple: sometimes excited, other times fearful. Sometimes he hated Linebeck for making him come back here; other times Ciela took that role. Regardless, every time had resulted in him conquering another piece of the complex puzzle, and now he was ready to finally get to the end.

As they approached the temple and disappeared inside, two figures watched from a nearby cliff. Finally, Linebeck spoke, "Think they'll really do it?"

Oshus' brow furrowed. "Let us hope so."

Inside the temple, Link stepped into the familiar golden light that took him to the end of the sixth floor. Once there, without hesitating, he descended the stairway to the seventh. Coming out into a safe zone, he saw a red Phantom walking by. He quickly drew his new sword and slashed at its back as it passed. The monster shrieked in pain before exploding in a burst of purple and black smoke. Link grinned. This was going to be fun.

Ciela rolled her eyes as they slowly made their progression through each floor. Link seemed less preoccupied with completing the puzzles than he was destroying everything that so much as moved. "I think your slaughtering streak is coming back," she noted absently.

"Is it? Thought I left that back at the Isle of Frost," Link replied as he buried his blade to the hilt into a Phantom's spinal area. The fairy shrugged as they continued on, Link leaving no floor populated.

By the tenth floor, Ciela was beginning to worry about the hero's sanity. He was laughing insanely whenever he killed something, and had even developed what he called a strategy, though what Ciela would call a sick game. Link would jump into a Phantom's line of sight, then dive into a safe zone as it approached. The moment he disappeared and the monster turned around and exposed its back, Link was Rambo with a sword and made sure nothing remained of the armour except small shards before they exploded.

He was also taunting the Phantom Eyes, letting them see him and have them ring above his head, waiting for the Phantom that would never come. He giggled like a sugar-high child as he pulled out his hammer and decided to smash them into the ground like beetles. Ciela cringed as she learned that Phantom Eyes apparently bleed a black smoke.

"Okay, you're disgusting," she finally said as they descended to the twelfth floor. Link only shrugged and went to work. He found the golden Phantoms much more of a thrill, given that they could teleport around the room. He used this to his advantage and signalled the Phantom Eyes to chase him around, messing with the Phantom and having it teleport all over the floor. Only when it was tired did Link appear and strike it down.

"Phantoms can get tired?" Ciela asked, confused. "Aren't they empty suits of armour?"

"I guess they're using their own energy to teleport around. Law of Conservation of Energy: energy isn't created or destroyed, only transferred from form to form," Link said intelligently. "Eventually they would run out of steam. And then that's when I strike!" he yelled, laughing manically and going after yet another guardian. Ciela only sighed.

"How can you be smart _and_ a total nutcase?" she asked when Link had finally slain the last Phantom. He only shrugged before a large doorway with the Ocean King's symbol opened at the end of the room. Link headed over to it, excited.

"I was wondering how we'd proceed, since this looked like the end of the line the last time I was here," Link voiced. "I guess slaughtering Phantoms on this floor was the way to do it!" Ciela only rolled her eyes for the hundredth time. "I just hope you don't end up needing the Hourglass' protection in the fight, seeing as you've wasted most of the time here."

They entered into a room with no fog. It appeared quite different from the rooms with the charts; they were on a small piece of ground that had a large, absolutely still pool of water beneath them. A bridge stretched out to another platform straight ahead, which had a long, carved staircase that climbed up into shadows. Link sat down and caught his breath. The adrenaline had kept him from feeling tired, but now that it was wearing off he needed a break. He was also feeling a bit nervous; this was finally his confrontation with the great evil that had kidnapped and imprisoned Tetra. Despite his rampant fun he'd been experiencing for the past ten minutes, he now had some serious butterflies in his stomach.

Even so, he remembered the speeches that Oshus and Linebeck had given him. He remembered everyone he'd met who supported his fight: Astrid, Kayo, Biggoron, the Island Chief, Zauz, Jolene. He remembered that this had all started because he hadn't acted to save his best friend, and that he had journeyed endlessly for weeks to save her. There wasn't any turning back now; he had to continue on and finally end this. He owed that to Tetra.

Standing up, he took a deep breath. "Alright then, let's go," he said determinedly, and Ciela nodded. They crossed the bridge slowly; pairs of torches that adorned themselves along the way lit up as they passed by. Stepping onto the platform, they suddenly heard a splashing sound. Turning around quickly, they were both shocked to see that the bridge was falling into the water, plank by plank. Ciela faced Link, who only said, "No turning back now."

Ciela nodded and answered, "Well, I'm with you." Link's pants began shaking slightly, and the boy glanced down in confusion. Opening his pocket, two fairies rocketed out at an alarming speed.

"We're free!" Leaf shouted to the heavens. "Dude, we are _finally_ out!" He hovered down to Link and looked him dead in the eye. "Dude, I am _not_ happy with you right now. However, for the sake of the world, and because we're bound to serve the Ocean King, I'm here with you too."

"Me too, me too!" Neri added as she flew over to Link as well. "You totally owe us hugely for trapping us in there for-" she shivered, "-for what seemed like forever, but for our mutual hatred of the vile Bellum, I'm backing you up as well!"

Link stared at the three spirits floating before him, then nodded with a smile. Together, they approached the large staircase and, after a moment's final hesitation, began the long climb up.


	26. Showdown With Bellum

_Wow, two chapters in one day; I'm impressed with even myself! And a new length record to boot! Here it is, the fight that we've all been waiting for since Chapter One! I actually watched a video of the fight to get every detail correct! Leave a review please, and enjoy the chaos!_

_**Chapter 26: Showdown With Bellum**_

After a long trek through absolute darkness, the quartet finally saw light and quickly headed for it. As they reached the top of the stairs, they all audibly awed at the room they were in. It was a huge circular chamber that was three stories high, with two staircases winding up around the wall opposite each other to each floor. The floor they were on was huge and bare, save for a pool of purple, polluted water in the very centre of the room. Gazing up, they saw that the other two floors were shaped as rings that hugged the round wall; five pillars were mounted around the inside of both. Purple banners adorned with the Ocean King's symbol hung all over the room, and Link was simply speechless. The room was absolutely gigantic, but it was also strangely empty. _Where's Bellum?_

To answer his silent question, a loud screech filled the chamber. A concrete slab sealed itself tightly over the staircase; Link quickly looked up the centre of the room, but could see only shadows around the ceiling. As soon as he noticed though, he saw what made him shiver.

Slowly emerging from the shadow was a green sort of creature. He had five long tentacles that each had a disgusting yellow eye pattern on each end. As for the body, he had what looked like teeth clamped shut on top of him that were moving slightly. A blue and orange spiked appendage that sickly resembled a tail protruded from the bottom of the body. The creature slowly floated his way down from floor to floor before finally hovering over the poisoned water. He rotated back and forth, letting his tentacles flow freely before slightly leaning towards Link. The teeth snapped open to reveal a petrifying yellow pupil, surrounded by an orange iris and black eyeball. Bellum screeched again, and Link quickly drew his sword.

Bellum flew around the chamber once and dove into the pool. Surfacing, he began shooting purple globs at the boy. Link dodged or deflected them with his shield, and they hit the ground with an odd, suction noise. Once they did though, they morphed into little eyeballs that resembled Phantom Eyes. Link frantically eliminated them before they could touch him, while Bellum issued a noise that scarcely resembled a chuckle.

"Link, you have to attack him!" Ciela yelled. Link ran back and forth, frustrated already.

"I would, but I can't reach him! He's too far into the water for me to reach, and that water looks like it would kill me!" he countered.

"Use your grappling hook to pull him towards you!" the fairy yelled, and Link realized she was right. Quickly drawing his grappling hook, he threw the line out to the squid creature. Once the hook caught on, Link yanked as hard as he could.

Bellum shot towards the edge of the pool with alarming speed, and hit the side with a force strong enough to stun him. Link quickly took his chance and smiled grimly. "Eat this," he yelled, and stabbed him with the Phantom Sword. The creature recoiled in pain, and dove back under the water.

"Did I win?" Link asked, confused. Neri flew around the room frantically.

"You have to hit him more than once! He didn't take on the Ocean King by being a totally ugly loser!" the blue fairy replied quickly. Link sighed.

"That hardly made sense. But I guess this battle will actually take some effort." He snorted. "That's a first."

Bellum resurfaced and resumed his glob trick. Link quickly repeated the process and reeled him in, and this time struck him several times before he got away. This time, however, Bellum shrieked and smacked Link with a tentacle that sent him flying into the wall.

"Link!" Ciela cried. "Can you get up?"

"Of course, it takes more than one hit to bring me down," Link said with a grimace as he stood up. Bellum quickly flew out of the water and rose to the second floor. Link watched his movement until he spotted the nearest staircase, and tore up after him.

The squid had latched a tentacle to each pillar and held himself as he spewed more globs out. Link realized he was surrounded as he saw they were on the pillars, the wall, and even the ceiling above him. He ran around the ring, slaying as many globs as he could reach, before finally focusing on the evil being that, for some reason, hadn't moved.

"Dude, I think he's resting after what you did!" Leaf shouted as he joined Link. "Shoot his tentacles man, get him back in the air!"

Without a word, Link drew his bow. Fitting an arrow, he took aim and fired. The arrow struck a tentacle and Bellum screamed, the tentacle writhing around in pain. Link circled around the floor and kept shooting the tentacles one by one. Finally, after hitting all five, Bellum gave off a sort of yell and spun around quickly. His tentacles whipped at Link, who quickly ducked behind his shield. Then he dove back down and disappeared under the water.

Link tore back down the stairs to the ground floor. Bellum had resurfaced; now, however, he had covered much of his body in the globs that he shot out. Link quickly grabbed his hook and started pulling them off, one at a time. The process was slow going, as the creature kept creating more on himself as well as shooting some at Link.

"He's stalling so that he can recover!" Ciela cried. "You have to be quicker!"

"How can I be quicker? I can only pull off one at a time!" Link retaliated. "Why don't you guys actually do something and distract him so he stops making more?"

Ciela flew over to the other side of Bellum and started yelling. "Hey, ugly! You think you're tough enough to take on the Ocean King? Try his three best servants!"

The other two quickly picked up on this and went over to help Ciela. Together, the three of them slowly drew the phantom's attention.

"C'mon man, bring it on! You think you're such hot stuff? We can take you, we have more power than you would know what to do with!"

"You can't take us all, we've got the power to open doors and blink quickly! Fear the blink, fear the blink!"

Link smirked when Bellum looked the other way. He pulled off the rest of the globs and then reeled in the big one to teach a lesson to him. Bellum again hit the edge of the pool and blinked in confusion. Link slashed and stabbed as much as he could before the beast regained his senses and shoved him back. Screeching at Link, he quickly rose up to the second floor again.

"He's going to-"

"I know!" Link said crossly as he ran for the stairs. This time he found globs dropping from the floor above to impede his progress on the stairs. He finally found himself at the second floor, only to be once again surrounded by purple-black globs.

"Son of a bitch!" he cried as he began slashing wildly to create some room to move. "Not to sound like a downer guys, but I'm really starting to get tired!"

"Just keep it up!" he heard Ciela faintly. The room was so tall that he could barely hear the fairies down a floor below. Link gritted his teeth and drew his bow once more. Seeing that Bellum was again attempting to rest, he began firing the arrows.

However, he was again impeded, this time by the fact that the tentacles were closing their eyes and protecting themselves from being hit. "Wait a minute, those things are actually eyes?" Link cried out in disgust. "I mean, I guess that's how he can see with that big eye shut, but that's still disgusting!"

"Just shoot them!" all of the spirits yelled, and Link rolled his eyes. He kept at it, though it was slow-going. Eventually though, he hit all five, and Bellum yelled again. Floating a bit higher, he began slamming the ground with his tentacles. Link yelled out in shock and fell backwards to avoid being flattened under a tentacle-eye. Bellum kept at it for about a minute before rising up higher and disappearing from view.

Link sighed and ran for the stairs again. This time he kept going up, again having to fight through hoards of globs. Finally he reached the third floor, which he quickly noticed was the very top of the room. Bellum was again resting against the pillars, which Link could now see the tops of. Curiously, each was fitted with a giant blue-green glass ball. _Wonder what they're for?_

Link was snapped out of his thoughts as a tentacle smacked him backwards. The boy lost his footing and tumbled about halfway down the stairs before he was able to stop himself. Link gritted his teeth as he rubbed his sore back and ran back up to deliver a few 'thank you' arrows.

After another slow process of firing arrows, he finally scored a hit on the fourth tentacle. Bellum screamed and spun around, trying to hit the boy. Link rolled to the side and quickly shot off a fifth, which somehow reached the remaining open eye. Bellum then screamed louder and shriller than anything Link had yet heard, who clamped his hands over his ears. Bellum fell back down towards the water two stories below, but a glowing green ball remained where he had been. Link stared at it in fascination before Ciela quickly flew up to him.

"Link! You're still alright? You're not-" She stopped and noticed the glowing ball of light. "Is that…" she faltered, then squealed. "My memories! Bellum lost his hold on my power!" She hastily flew into the ball of light, which then exploded and bathed the room in a slight green light. When it had cleared, Ciela was left hovering in the centre, not moving at all.

"Ciela?" Link called. "How do you feel?"

"I feel… complete. I don't know how to describe it, but for the first time since we met, I'm actually whole again! I finally remember that last bit of information that's eluded me!" the fairy exclaimed. Link grinned.

"Which would be?"

"That I am Ciela, the Spirit of Courage. But as well, I'm also the Spirit of Time!"

"The-?" Link blinked. "Wait, you're two roles? How does _that_ make any sense?"

The fairy shrugged. "Beats me."

* * *

_A long time before Bellum's invasion…_

The Ocean King sat in his house in his human form. He was enjoying a nice relaxing day off from watching over the populace of the sea. Everyone needed a vacation, right?

Or at least he was trying to enjoy a day off. Adam, the Spirit of Time, was hovering beside him, making scarcely a noise. Between the Four Spirits of the Ocean King, they had agreed that at least one of them should be with the being at all times to make sure nothing attacked him. Especially when he was taking the form of a human. For whatever reason he chose to do so.

Oshus, as he liked to be called when in that form, slowly felt his patience wearing out. His eye began to twitch until he felt something inside him snap.

"For the love of Din, will you just shut up!" he shouted at Adam. "I'm trying to enjoy a day off, yet you ruin it by continuing to talk! I don't care anymore, just don't open your mouth!"

"Huh?" Adam inquired, attention drawn to the man. "What are you-" He immediately disappeared with a slight 'pop'. Oshus smiled, content.

"_Finally_. Talk back at me, will you? Well, I'll just erase your existence from time! See how you like never being fathomed!" He chuckled at his joke.

Suddenly, he heard another fairy approaching. He ran to the doorway and peeked out, and to his horror saw Ciela heading for his house. Reacting to the first thing that popped into his mind, he snapped his fingers.

"Hey, Ocean- I mean, Oshus? I haven't seen Adam for a while, have you… Whoa." She shook slightly. "I feel weird. Like I was just hit by a blast of psychic energy, and that I'm now more powerful or something… Wait, what was I just saying?"

"You were just asking me about Adam, dear one," Oshus said casually. Ciela blinked in confusion. "Adam? Who's Adam? I've never heard of him. Is he a friend of yours?"

Oshus smiled to himself. _Excellent._

* * *

"As far back as I can remember, they just appeared in me one day," Ciela said. "I have no explanation for it, I think Grandpa just said that sometimes it happens."

"Huh. Odd," Link commented.

"Yep. Just remember. I'm more powerful now, and I can control time. You're my bitch if you ever turn on me again," the fairy added, glaring at the boy. Link swallowed.

"Why is it that you become more violent every time you get more power?" he asked.

"Because sometimes life is just cruel," she answered darkly.

Link was about to retaliate when he heard Bellum screech. He readied his sword, but the monster didn't appear. Confused, he walked over to the edge of the floor and peered down to see if he was in the pool, when the phantom suddenly crashed into the floor right below his feet. The impact shook the entire third floor, and Link screamed as he lost his footing and fell over the edge.

"LINK!" he heard Ciela scream as he began his long fall headfirst towards the ground. _I can't believe it,_ he thought wildly. _This is how I die? By hitting the ground and splatting?_ He glanced up at the ground that was quickly approaching and noticed that there was the slightest chance that he could make it into the pool. _Wait, like that's any better, falling into poisoned water that'll kill me if I touch it. Sometimes, life IS cruel._

He closed his eyes tightly and waited for the end. However, he was surprised to feel that he broke through the surface he hit instead of the other way around. He realized that, by some infinite luck, he had managed to fall into the pool. However, a burning on his bare skin quickly became apparent. Link's eyes shot open as he quickly swam to the surface and broke free, taking ragged breaths. As fast as he could he hauled himself out of the infected water and lay on the edge of the pool, gasping.

Above him, he saw Bellum flying around the second floor in a large circle, taunting him. Link bit his tongue as the last flashes of pain raced through his body, then slowly stood up. Ciela quickly made her way towards him.

"Oh, thank the Ocean King! I thought that was it!" she cried, breathing heavily. Link swallowed nervously. "Yeah, actually, I did too."

"Hey, hey, Bellum's getting serious!" Neri called from the second floor, where she and Leaf were busy distracting the squid. "He won't open his eye, and he won't stop flying around either!"

"Ciela, you have to do something!" Leaf yelled to his partner. Ciela blinked, then realized what the red fairy was referring to. "Link, that's it!"

Bellum quickly flew down to the first floor and continued his trek around the room. As he did so, he smashed against the staircases, which quickly crumbled. Link gritted his teeth in frustration; he was trapped on the ground floor now. On top of that, he couldn't hit Bellum; the phantom was flying around too high to be reached, and even if he was lower his eye remained tightly shut.

"Link, listen to me!" Ciela called as Link struggled to block Bellum's whipping tentacles. "I'm the Spirit of Time! Remember when Grandpa said you can't utilize the full power of the Phantom Sword? It's because you needed my time powers to do it! I can create Phantom Spheres-" she stopped while Link struggled with a tentacle, then continued when he threw it off, "-which can be used by the sword to stop time!"

"Wait, I can _freeze_ time?" Link asked, shocked. Ciela shook her head.

"Not for very long, I'm not THAT powerful. I think you can get about ten seconds out of each Phantom Sphere."

"Well then let's do it!" Link yelled. "We're out of options at this point!"

He chased after Bellum who was still flying, and Ciela began to glow. After a few seconds, a yellow ball of energy split away from her and made its way to Link. "Here! It's attracted to the Phantom Sword!"

Link stopped running and turned toward the light, which was nearing him. He struck it with his sword and instantly everything became silent. Link looked around and saw that everything was black and white; Bellum, Leaf and Neri were all motionless in their positions. Link stared in wonder before everything blinked and Bellum continued.

"You can store them too," Ciela called to him. "That way you can use it when you need to. Absorb it into the hourglass crystal instead of hitting the ball!"

She formed another one and launched it at Link, who did as he was told. The ball of light was absorbed into the crystal, which now glowed a bright yellow. Link watched Bellum dive back into the pool and screech at him. The boy took notice of how the creature was at the edge of the pool and grinned.

"Now how do I activate it?" he wondered, looking at the sword. As if responding to a mental command, the sword activated and time froze once more. Link bit his tongue and raced towards Bellum. "Four, five, six…" he counted to himself as he finally reached the phantom. He hacked at the exposed eyeball for about three seconds before time was restored and Bellum spun away.

"It worked, he's weakening!" Link cheered. "Ciela, quick, one more should do it!"

"Give me a sec, they take a while to make!" she responded before launching another one. Link dove into the ball and watched Bellum's movements. The squid yelled before circling around the room again, though much lower than before, in an attempt to ram Link. The boy smiled as the beast neared.

"Eat it, you bastard," he said as he triggered the Phantom Sphere. Time once again froze as Link charged the eye and began slashing it again, this time for the full ten seconds. With a second to spare, Link flipped back and jumped at the eye, sword raised overhead. The monochrome stoppage ended right before the blade hit, and Bellum shrieked in shock.

The eye took the hit dead on, and Bellum rose into the air with a painful scream. Link and Ciela watched as it floated over the lake and writhed in agony. Leaf and Neri made their way over to the duo as the beast finally quit thrashing and fell into the pool, disappearing from view.

"We… We did it!" Link cheered, dancing around. "We killed Bellum! We saved the Great Sea! We freed Tetra! We- Wait, what is he _doing_?" The spirits quickly spun around to see Bellum blast out of the water and grab a hold of the pillars on the second floor. With all his might, the phantom began to pull.

"He's destroying the pillars holding the floors up, dude!" Leaf yelled.

"Link, he's gonna flatten us, he's trying to take us with him!" Neri screamed. Link's eyes widened in horror as he saw that they were right.

The pillars all crumbled at once, and the room began shaking. Link began to panic; the slab was still blocking the stairs, and even if it wasn't they had nowhere to run; the bridge down there was out, and the collapsing room would reach them anyway. He shut his eyes tightly and crouched into a ball as the floors above them began to fall. The third floor crashed into the second, which was then knocked out of place and fell towards them. Link opened his eyes slightly as he heard Bellum's terrible laughing fill the room while the heavy concrete was right above him. All of the sudden, out of nowhere, he felt a tingly feeling throughout his body. He shut his eyes again right as the floors hit.

Then everything was silent and black.

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity, Link slowly opened his eyes. He could feel sunlight on his face, and a slight breeze tousled his hair. Looking around, he saw that he and the spirits were back in the market square. Three pairs of feet were in front of him.

The boy slowly stood up, blinking in the sudden change of light. Looking back at him were the bright faces of Oshus, Linebeck, and Jolene.

The captain grabbed Link and pulled him into a giant hug. "You did it, kid! You took down Bellum and saved the sea!"

Link choked under the man's strong grasp, and struggled to say a few words. "But… Why aren't we dead? We should've been flattened!"

Jolene smiled. "Oshus sensed that an immense power suddenly disappeared, so he used his power to see into the chamber. When he saw that you guys were about to become a rainbow of pancakes, he used all of his power to teleport you out here."

"You… used up all of your power to rescue us?" Link asked, concerned. The Ocean King waved his hand as Leaf and Neri flew over to greet him.

"Do not worry, dear boy. My power was very limited in this form, I had only a finite amount that I could not regenerate. When I return to my true form however, I shall be able to restore it like normal."

Link nodded slowly and turned to Jolene. "And when did you get here?"

"She showed up a few minutes after you and Sparkles left," Linebeck answered, putting his arm around her. "She wanted to be here to congratulate you when you succeeded." Jolene flashed a smile and a wink at the boy.

"So… We actually did it then?" Link asked. He looked at Ciela, who nodded back. They had actually done it! But if that were the case, then-

Link ran to the dock and leaped onto the _S.S. Linebeck_. Jumping over the stairs into the cabin, he looked over at the statue that was now glowing with a golden light. It quickly enveloped the cabin, and Link covered his eyes from a flash for the second time that day. As quickly as it came though, it faded, and Link slowly removed his hand from his eyes.

She stood there, shaking a little, wriggling her fingers to get her blood flowing again. She shook her head and blinked, before brushing a strand of golden hair off of her face. She examined herself over before concluding that she was fine. It was then that she looked up and noticed the green clad boy standing across the room from her. Her mouth hung slightly open for a moment while at a loss for words, and Link's heart stopped, afraid to see which way things would go. Finally though, her lips curved up into a small smile, and her eyes began to water.

"Tetra," Link whispered, and ran towards her. She started towards him but didn't get very far before he had wrapped his arms around her and rested his face against the side of her neck. Tetra buried herself into his chest and began to cry. "Link, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have jumped, I was in way over my head! I've caused so much trouble, I can't even imagine what I've put you through! I'm so, so sorry!" Her tears ran like rivers down her face. "I don't know if I'll ever make it up to you!"

Link stroked her hair softly while she wept. "You don't have to make it up to me. I felt terrible that I hadn't stopped you from going onto the ship, and then that I didn't even really care that you were possibly in trouble. I've been trying to save you for weeks, but secretly I've been fearing this moment. I thought you'd be downright pissed at me, and you'd have had every right to be." Tetra shook her head without looking at him, and continued to speak into his chest.

"No, I was in the wrong, It's me who deserves to get yelled at around here," she sniffled, and Link just chucked.

When she looked at him, he said, "It's just funny how it worked out. You thought I'd hate you, I thought you'd hate me. Since we both feel we deserve it, why don't we just call it even?"

Tetra nodded, wiping the tears from her face. "Alright, we're even." She wrapped her arms tighter around the boy. "I've missed you."

Link smiled softly. "I've missed you too, a lot. Rescuing you made me realize how dysfunctional I am without my best friend to keep me in check." Tetra laughed, which resulted in a hiccup as she was still controlling her tears.

"I thought I was going to die, Link. It made me regret not telling you something that I probably should've a while ago," Tetra said. Link blinked in curiosity, so she continued.

"Well, I think the reason I didn't say anything before was because I didn't think that's how a pirate captain should act, but… Well, I sort of see you as more than just my closest friend," she said, turning a bit pink. "I sort of… like you a bit more than that. I have ever since we defeated Ganondorf together."

Link's eyes widened. "Wait, really? 'Cause I actually… Well, I guess, I have too. I just always pushed it aside and sort of hoped it would disappear." When Tetra looked at him, confused, he added, "I thought you'd kill me if you knew." The girl laughed.

"Well, I'm actually glad that's out in the open now," she said, smiling. "Of course, if you tell anyone, I _will_ kill you," she added with a dark look. Link quickly swallowed.

"I won't, I promise," he replied nervously, and Tetra grinned.

"Good. Now c'mere…" She pulled him closer and closed her eyes. Link's heart leapt when their lips almost touched, when…

"Whoa, did I appear at the right time!"

Link sighed as Tetra quickly opened her eyes and pulled away. "Damn it Linebeck, your timing is just peachy, y'know that?"

"Sure, let's call it 'peachy'," he said with a wink. "And it's Captain Linebeck, by the way," he added with a glance at Tetra as he kissed her hand.

"Charmed," the girl replied with a grin. "Captain Tetra."

"Oh, I know, the kid here has told me ALL about you," Linebeck winked again. "I have to say, if you two didn't just pour your hearts out to each other there, I'd have done it myself. Maybe I should've anyway, I don't think anything I could've done would be _any_ worse than that confession." Link rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, at least it's out. So is there a reason you interrupted?"

"Besides the obvious reason of having two teens making out on my boat? Actually, yes. Come with me." He walked up the stairs and out onto the deck, while the other two looked at each other and followed. Tetra grabbed Link's hand and the boy just grinned.

They rejoined the group of people that was now on the deck. "There's a problem," Linebeck started once they were all in a circle. He looked around at the two men, two women, and three fairies all looking back at him. "I was going to explain once you four-" he gestured to Link and the spirits, "-got back. But since someone was a bit eager to make up on his lost kissing time…" Link's face turned a deep red.

"The fact is, the Ghost Ship has appeared again," he said bluntly, and everyone but Oshus and Jolene stared at him incredulously.

"But it hasn't appeared since we rescued Statue Tetra from it!" Link exclaimed. Linebeck nodded solemnly.

"I know, but it is, and to boot it's right off the coast of Mercay Island." Everyone was silent as they listened. "It's currently stopped right at the northern tip of the Southwestern Sea, remember where that giant tornado was?" Link and Ciela both nodded slowly. Linebeck pointed across the island in the general direction of it.

"I mean, you can't see it from here, but you _can_ see how the sky's all dark and purple over there. Y'know how you can see all the fog?"

Link sighed. "Let me guess. We have to go check it out."

"The townspeople are freaking out over it, they think it's finally come to take them all at once," Jolene said. "I noticed it appear since I was passing nearby. I came here to inform the Ocean King and some idiot accidentally overheard. And in about twelve seconds, everybody on the island knew about it."

"So," Linebeck finished, "We're going to go examine it. Since Bellum's dead it _should_ have disappeared, but-" the man was suddenly cut off as a shrill screech pierced the air. Link swallowed loudly, instantly knowing the origin of the sound.

All of the sudden a shadow fell over the ship, and everyone looked up. There was a flash of green going by and black tentacles flailing, and Linebeck yelled in shock. Then, out of nowhere, Bellum flung himself into the centre of their circle and flailed around his tentacles.

Everyone fell to the deck under the assault, and the phantom quickly took off into the sky. As he did though, Link noticed a flash of golden hair out of the corner of his eye.

"Link!" a girl's voice cried out. Link looked up and with horror saw Tetra clutched in Bellum's tentacles, quickly disappearing into the distance.

"TETRA!"

"Hang on everyone, we're heading to the Ghost Ship!" Linebeck yelled, and ran below deck. Within a minute they were charging at full speed around the island towards the ship.

Link stood rigid at the bow, his knuckles turning white as they clutched at the railing. He had just gotten her back! They hadn't been together for more than ten minutes! And then the evil he thought he had destroyed had taken her yet again!

As the Ghost Ship came within view, Linebeck straightened out and headed right for it. Jolene, meanwhile, put a comforting hand on Link's shoulder. The boy was shaking with rage, and she felt sorry that she couldn't help him. Over in the corner of the deck, Oshus was quickly speaking to the spirits in a language neither of them could understand.

Suddenly, a sound was heard overhead. Everyone looked up to see Bellum soar past them, on his way to the ship as well. Tetra dangled lifelessly in his tentacles; Link realized that he must have knocked her unconscious and yelled in frustration.

Bellum easily outsped the _S.S. Linebeck_ and reached the Ghost Ship first. As he did, the fog began to thicken and the dark skies began to thunder loudly. A storm seemed to be picking up; the only thing missing, oddly, was any rain. Linebeck stopped the boat and ran out onto the deck as Bellum disappeared onto the deck of the ship.

Everyone looked out over the railing and gasped as a dark cloud appeared around the Ghost Ship. They could faintly see silhouettes of something that appeared to be morphing. They all looked at each other: fear was on some faces, while concern was on others. "Tetra?" Link asked worriedly. Linebeck ground his teeth together in anger.

"What is Bellum _doing_?"


	27. Naval Retaliation

_The countdown continues! Lack of humour now and next chapter for serious action, plus some heavier language, so excuse the temporary change!_

_**Chapter 27: Naval Retaliation**_

The dark cloud soon disappeared as everyone gasped again. The Ghost Ship had taken on a form that was even more fearsome than it was previously: it was now black and purple, with giant eye-globs covering it. It looked like a monster straight out of a nightmare, with the eyes each blinking independently and focusing on the _S.S. Linebeck_.

An eye suddenly shot a glob at the boat, and everyone screamed and shouted in fear. It barely missed and rocked the boat from the force of the impact with the water. A shrill laughter rang out through the air, and Link gritted his teeth in anger. Slowly, the black, tattered sails of the ship filled with the storm's fierce gusts, and it began sailing away, eyes constantly blinking.

"Linebeck, it's getting away!" Link screamed, almost hysterical.

"I know, I'm on it!" the captain shouted back, already halfway down the steps. A few seconds later, Linebeck punched the boat into high gear and they set off in pursuit of the formidable monstrosity. Another eye shot a glob towards them, and he swung the wheel hard to the right. The boat made a hard turn to starboard and narrowly avoided the shot.

"Everybody below deck!" Link shouted, and the remaining passengers hurried to comply. Jolene was last, and from the steps she turned and called, "Aren't you coming? It's too dangerous up here!"

Link simply shook his head. "Nope, this is beyond personal now. I'm staying up here and fighting that thing." Jolene hesitated while biting her lip, before finally hurrying down the steps. When he was alone he pulled up the cannon and rotated it to face the ship they were just keeping up with. "Alright bitch," he muttered as he took aim, "let's play."

They were directly behind the Ghost Ship now, and the green-clad hero had three eyes within his sights. After a few more seconds they were in range, and Link began firing. Bombs rained forward and intercepted globs the eyes had quickly thrown out of self-defence, creating powerful explosions in midair. Link saw an opening and shot it home, and smiled grimly when he saw it hit. The eye thrashed around before exploding; however, the other two quickly doubled their assault.

Link struggled to keep the ship from taking a hit. Despite appearing to be a sort of goo, he knew that the globs were a lot bigger than what Bellum had thrown at him in the temple, and were likewise a lot heavier. The _S.S. Linebeck_ was fast, but it wasn't designed for head-on naval combat; it wouldn't last two or three hits.

After a stalemate of more midair explosions, Link finally took out a second eye. He stared down the remaining one and licked his lips. "Fuse with your ship, huh? Fine, I'll just take both of you down at once, you miserable squid!" He fired three bombs in quick succession; the eye countered two before taking the third and exploding.

Despite himself, Link smiled. There was little success, at least. As well, the ship seemed to be momentarily slowing; Link knew that Bellum had felt some pain, and resolved to deliver a whole lot more. What was more important though was that they had closed some of the gap between them, and the boy saw his chance.

"Linebeck, up starboard!"

"You got it!" the captain yelled from below, and quickly angled to come up on the right side of the Ghost Ship. The two ships were now racing through the water side-by-side, and Link almost fainted when he saw how many eyes were along the hull. Almost in unison, they all began firing, and the hero swore loudly as he tried his best to counter them. Luckily, the storm winds had blown a few of them astray, but one still got through that neither Link nor nature could prevent. It impacted the side of the boat hard, and Link was violently knocked to the deck, hitting his head rather hard.

"We're taking damage!" he heard Linebeck yell faintly as he tried to focus. His head was spinning as he attempted to stand up, using the cannon to steady himself. Shaking his head, he tried to aim at the eyes, but found that he was seeing triple and couldn't tell which was real. Swallowing, he took a guess and fired, only to hear it explode harmlessly on the Ghost Ship's hull.

"Oh Nayru, this isn't good," he mumbled to himself as he tried to shake it off. Everything was spinning and he was losing his balance due to the choppy storm waters. Unexpectedly, a giant wave came crashing onto the deck, drenching the hero in icy cold water. Link gasped loudly as he immediately woke up and coughed. Shaking his sopping bangs out of his eyes, he immediately noticed that he could see straight and once again took aim.

"Damn, these are the _worst_ conditions to sail in!" Linebeck cursed from below. "I can hardly keep the boat straight, it's taking all of my strength not to get carried off by a wave and capsize!" Link heard Jolene try her best to console him as he resumed his fight with the eyes. After a fierce five minute battle he was down to two eyes, and panting from focusing so hard. The strong wind was freezing him, and it didn't help that water kept splashing up onto the deck. Finally though, he hit them and watched with satisfaction as they exploded.

"Clear Linebeck! As much as you can, can you get back behind it?" Link shouted over the harsh winds that were picking up. Instead of an answer, he felt the boat's engines tune down, and saw the Ghost Ship race ahead. A couple of seconds later the engines resumed their full-powered hum while the captain sharply angled the boat back behind the phantom ship.

Link was ready to try and stall the ship somehow when he noticed what made his eye twitch severely: "THOSE GODDAMN EYES RESPAWNED?" He shouted out a string of curses at the eyes that were back on the stern of the ship. Quickly, he fired off bomb after bomb; however, the eyes all closed and they exploded harmlessly against them. Link punched the cannon in frustration. "How in the hell are we supposed to do this then? Bellum has enough power to keep creating more eyes until he just overwhelms us!"

Grabbing the cannon again he fired blindly at the eyes, a madness coursing through his body. However, it was in vain as the eyes either shot back to destroy the bombs or simply closed. He kept firing shot after shot in the hopes that one would get through, but to no avail.

"Hang on, kid! I'm taking us up port!" a voice rang out. Link's eyes widened in fear as he realized what would happen if they did. "Linebeck, don't-" Another wave crashed onto the deck, drowning him out. As he coughed and tried to focus, he saw through squinted eyes that the Ghost Ship was losing speed. _Why is it…?_ He screamed quickly, "Linebeck, he's letting you overtake him! He's going to sink us!"

The captain called from below that he hadn't heard, and asked for the comment again. But Link was too busy to answer as he frantically took the cannon and shot wildly at the swarm of eyes now glaring at him as they came up the ship's left. As one, they all shot a glob, which rained down like a murderous hailstorm. Link screamed as they hit the water all around him and knocked him off his feet once again. As fate would have it, the last glob managed to hit the ship dead-on and Link was thrown off the deck and into the air.

He looked down and saw that he was over the ocean right as he began falling back down. He reached wildly for the railing and managed to get his fingers around it as he fell past. However, he swung straight into the hull of the _S.S. Linebeck _and jarred his wrist in the process. He screamed in pain and blinked back tears, biting his lip as hard as he could to ignore the coarse feeling running through his body. He hung there by one hand as tightly as he could, trying to block out the enflaming in his wrist that strengthened with each passing second.

He suddenly had a crazy flashback to when he and Tetra had first spotted the Ghost Ship, and how he had recklessly been thrown at it to get her. He hadn't been able to hang on then, and had plunged into the sea to die. Somehow, he had survived and gone on another adventure. And somehow, he had rescued Tetra, despite her being taken again. Link reached up and struggled to grab the railing with his other hand. "Last time I screwed up," he scowled. "But I am NOT falling again!"

With all his strength he managed to grab a hold of the rope and haul himself up. As he collapsed onto the deck, he stared up at the flashing lightning, panting heavily. Glancing to the side, he saw that Linebeck had realized his mistake and quickly fallen back, and that they were now a considerable distance behind the Ghost Ship. He also noticed a thin trail of black smoke breezing out of the chimney, mixing with the white exhaust. _That last hit must've done some serious damage._

Ciela flew up from below and was at his side in a second. "Link! Are you alright? Linebeck saw you go over!" she cried hysterically. Link nodded and slowly tried to sit up. "What happened? Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, I managed to grab the railing," he replied, trying to brush off the pain in his nose from hitting the hull as he gently massaged his wrist. "I just don't know how to beat him. Those eyes just come back after I hit them, I don't know how to get an advantage."

Ciela looked out over the deck, pondering the boy's words. After a moment though, Link heard her call him: "Link. You aren't going to believe this."

"Hmm?" He turned to look at her, only to see that she was focused on something in the distance. Following her gaze out over the water, he saw something fluttering in the gale-force winds. "Is that…" He squinted as it drew ever closer before his face fell in shock. "No way."

"Yeah way," the fairy replied dully. "I think it's your stupid cheat device."

"MY STORYLINE!" the boy shouted as he jumped to his feet. The booklet blew by over his head, and he jumped up and just got his fingers on it. "That is completely coincidental, I was just waiting for someone to give me a hint on what to do!"

Calling for Linebeck to catch up to the Ghost Ship, Link ducked behind the cannon for cover and flipped to the final pages. "Aha! Ghost Ship possession… 'Eyes hit directly will simply explode and be reabsorbed into the ship, causing them to quickly regenerate.' Well that's annoying. 'To dispose of properly, fire at base of eye to loosen eye's hold on ship, then hit eye to knock into the water.'" Link looked up at Ciela. "Well that's needlessly complicated! How would I have figured that out?"

"Whatever, you know it now. So take care of them," Ciela replied, and headed back for the steps.

"Wait!" the boy called, and Ciela turned around. Link tossed her the booklet which she caught, surprised. "Take my storyline with you."

"You just got it back after fourteen chapters and you're giving it away?"

Link reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses. Putting them on slowly, he answered, "I won't be needing it."

The fairy shrugged and headed back below deck. Seeing that he was back in range, Link grabbed the cannon and took aim at his new targets. Firing three quick shots, he watched the bombs sail across the water as the eyes did nothing to stop them. _Don't think they're a threat, huh?_ he thought with a grin as they hit. The eyes wobbled and became visibly detached from the ship. Link shot off three more bombs while they were distracted and watched with pleasure as they made contact with satisfying explosions. All three eyes fell into the ocean before exploding into nothing.

"Perfect. Alright Linebeck!" the hero called below, "Take us up again!"

The captain veered the boat starboard and they gained on the Ghost Ship while it was again momentarily delayed. Link began his new strategy and hardly ceased his shooting for a full minute. One eye retaliated and shot a glob straight into the water, which sent a relatively large wave for the _S.S. Linebeck_. It shook the boat rather fiercely, but Link grabbed tighter to the cannon to avoid falling again. However, his sunglasses flew off his face and slid over the edge of the deck.

"Damn it!" Link cried. He turned to the eye and glared until the eye quivered. "You will die."

He shot at the eye until it fell into the water, and even then didn't stop until it exploded. He then went back and worked his way to the bow until the entire starboard side was clear. He relayed this information to the captain below, who then cut back behind the ship and came up the port side. Link resumed his attack pattern, and the eyes fell one by one. Within a few minutes, he had knocked them all into the water and started cheering. "Yeah, suck it, Ghost Ship! Suck it, Bellum! I just served you hard-" he stopped as three giant eyes rose from the deck of the ship and glared down at him, supported on large stalks. "Oh."

The eye-stalks proved to be all show, however. They quickly fell under Link's ungodly barrage of bombs, and the boy went back to cheering. After a moment, the Ghost Ship stopped moving before promptly exploding in a violent eruption.

Link ducked behind the cannon as pieces of wood flew towards him. He glanced at the ship but saw only a large plume of purple smoke. Everyone but Linebeck rushed out onto the deck and gathered with Link to watch the fog clear.

When it did, they saw that the ship had literally blown to pieces. Bits of the deck and mast floated in the water ahead of them, but apart from that there was no movement anywhere. A rather large, oddly square portion of the deck sat in the centre of it all, and Linebeck slowly directed his boat over to it.

They inched up to the deck and hooked the anchor around a stray plank that was jutting from it. Link slowly stepped off the boat, glancing around as he did so. Linebeck and the spirits followed him as he continued to look for some sign of yellow. As he did though, he noticed the wood that was floating around him. "The ship looks grey and brown again," Link said quietly. "Bellum must've released himself from the ship right before it blew up."

"Be on your guard," Linebeck whispered back. "He could still be out here somewhere." They reached about the centre of the platform before Link noticed a bright colour in the corner of his eye.

Turning and glancing at it, he realized that it was Tetra. She was lying on a small scrap of wood floating a ways away. "There she is!" he exclaimed, pointing. Linebeck and the spirits followed his gaze right as the wood blew apart.

Link gasped as he saw Bellum shoot out from underneath, grabbing Tetra as he flew by. He quickly raced around before smashing into a piece of mast that was still standing vertically. With a loud creak, it broke loose and began to fall. Link watched and gasped as he realized what was about to happen.

Jolene and Oshus, who were still on the boat, looked up at the sound of the sudden creaking. Jolene's eyes widened as she instinctively backflipped over to the rail. However, Oshus was unable to move as fast, and vanished from sight as the mast fell with a heavy crunch. The impact launched Jolene into the air with a scream as Linebeck yelled her name, and she fell into the water a moment later and disappeared from view. The _S.S. Linebeck_ quickly vanished beneath the waves as the echo of the smashing continued to race out in all directions.

"GRANDPA!" Ciela screamed as Neri and Leaf gasped, words failing them.

Linebeck slowly sank to his knees, his eyes wide with horror. "M-my… My SHIP!" he cried in a hoarse, shaky voice.

Link suddenly felt something tight wrap around his body. He looked down and saw a black tentacle holding his chest and felt his heart stop. "Oh no-" Bellum lifted him into the air and began to swing him around wildly. Linebeck looked up and shouted, "Kid, no!" As he was flipped around, Link felt the Phantom Sword loosening out of its sheath on his back. He struggled to reach it, but failed because of his bound arms. As he was thrown around again, it fell and clattered to the deck below.

The spirits were all hovering over where Oshus had gone down under the mast, and Linebeck was unsure of what to do. His instincts were screaming at him to run, but he remained rooted to the ground in fear. Besides, his ship was underwater and beyond repair, and Jolene was nowhere to be seen; there was no running out on this situation. He looked up again at Bellum, who was taunting Link, and swallowed.

Bellum was laughing, holding Link in front of him to look him in the eye. He dangled Tetra beside him, just out of reach, and laughed harder. Link struggled to get the tentacle off of him, but it held too tightly. He glared at the phantom holding him and gritted his teeth. What were they supposed to do now? Everything had gone to hell in a matter of seconds! Link stole a look at Tetra, who still hadn't moved. Suddenly, Bellum blinked wildly, and slowly looked down. Link, confused, followed his gaze down and felt his heart stop.

Linebeck, shaking in absolute fear and showing it in his expression, swallowed again as he gripped the Phantom Sword as tightly as he could. He, Link and Bellum all stared at the tentacle that was pierced through the end of the blade. Bellum screamed and released his hold on the two kids, tossing them into the air. Link hit the deck heavily and tried his best to keep his eyes open, but darkness consumed his vision; he briefly saw Bellum rise and spread his tentacles fiercely at Linebeck before he passed out.

* * *

After an amount of time he couldn't determine, the boy heard his name being called, as well as "WAKE UP!" He slowly opened his eyes and rubbed his head as Ciela came into focus in front of him. "You have to get up, Link! Linebeck is fighting Bellum alone, he needs your help!"

Link sat up and looked around. He spotted Tetra's unconscious form on another large piece of the Ghost Ship's deck, and was content knowing she was alright for the time being. He turned around and stood up, only to see Linebeck slashing wildly at the tentacles attempting to advance on him. Bellum was floating before the captain, glaring and screeching while swatting at the man.

"Hurry up Link! I can't do this forever!" Linebeck yelled over his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye though, he spotted a splash in the ocean. Jolene was coughing and spitting while trying to tread water, and he quickly called out for her. His attention was drawn for two seconds though, and it proved to be a fatal mistake.

Bellum quickly wrapped a tentacle around Linebeck's arm, and grabbed his other without any problem. Link failed to notice as he stood there contemplating a thought. "He just called me Link? He's never called me Link before! Does he actually care-" His thoughts were interrupted as the captain called for the second time in his life, "Link! Help!"

The boy looked up and realized the man was in dire trouble. Bellum was wrapped around both his arms, and quickly grabbed the captain's stomach with another two tentacles and planted himself on his back. Linebeck grunted as Bellum wrapped his final tentacle around his neck and began to squeeze. "Link!" he choked, "Catch!" With all his might, he struggled against the tentacles and threw the Phantom Sword. Link rolled to his right and caught it before it went over the edge, but quickly widened his eyes in horror. Bellum was choking Linebeck and preventing him from moving.

"Let go of me, you bastard!" the captain grunted, but to no avail. He tried to walk, but fell to his hands and knees. Link was about to advance on the phantom pinning him before a large, purple and black tornado quickly engulfed the duo. The boy yelled in surprise and quickly covered his face from the fierce winds that came out of nowhere. After a few seconds they quickly dispersed, and he slowly looked at Linebeck. He gasped at what he saw.

A large, fearsome suit of armour engulfed the captain, leaving only his head exposed. Bellum remained firmly planted on his back, his eye tightly shut. Linebeck's skin was purple, and his eyes were a solid white. "Link…" he choked out, "H-he… Help…" A large helmet suddenly dropped onto his head, completely blocking him from view. A sadistic grin with sinister eyes was carved onto the helmet, and Link retreated a few steps as a massive sword materialized into the being's hand. The monstrosity resembled a huge, warped Phantom, and it was unlike anything Link had ever seen. Bellumbeck took a swing as a challenge and roared loudly.

"Oh, fuck me," Link whispered with wide eyes as he shook with terror. Bellumbeck swung his sword again with another roar before beginning his advance.


	28. Death's Duel

_**Chapter 28: Death's Duel**_

Link quickly pulled his shield to bear as Bellumbeck made his way towards him. He raised it as the phantom took a mighty swing, and it clattered under the pressure of the impact. The hit rattled Link as his arm began to ache, and quickly rolled out of the way. He ran to the other side of the platform and tried to get his bearings as the evil knight simply followed.

The hero looked around wildly. He abruptly noticed Jolene's unmoving figure lying on another piece of the deck; she must have pulled herself onto it in the midst of the chaos. Whether she was alive or not though, he couldn't say. He glanced quickly between her and Tetra before finally laying his eyes on the two spirits that were still pacing over the water, looking for a sign of Oshus.

"For the love of Farore, he's gone!" Link shouted at the pair. "We have other issues to attend to right now, so focus and start helping out! Tetra and Jolene need to be watched, so go make sure they're safe! I am NOT losing Tetra again!"

Leaf and Neri looked at each other for a moment before complying; the red fairy raced over to Tetra's body, while the blue one headed in Jolene's direction. Link looked for Ciela and spotted her hovering near the edge of the platform; before he could call out to her though, Bellumbeck was on top of him and he had to block another attack.

After a brief skirmish, Link was able to duck out of the way and run from the phantom again. As he did, he made his way by Ciela, who now seemed to be back to grieving over the Ocean King. The fairy looked at him as he approached and began to shake.

"He used up all of his power to get us out of the temple, and he's so old, there's no way he could've avoided being hit!" Ciela cried, almost in tears.

"Ciela, get a _grip_! If we aren't careful we'll be joining him in about ten seconds!" Link yelled as Bellumbeck advanced on him yet again. However, this time he had strategically backed Link into a corner and slowly drew closer. The boy's eyes widened as he saw that he was pinned, and quickly jumped at the knight to fight him directly. To his horror though, his opponent easily parried the strike with speed he wouldn't have considered possible in hundreds of pounds of armour.

The hero bit his tongue and continued his assault, hoping to have something get through; every time though, Bellumbeck was able to parry and counter his efforts. Link swallowed nervously; he had never fought an opponent to this degree of difficulty before, and things weren't looking good.

"Wait a minute, Linebeck can _fight_? All this time, he was actually able to _match_ you in swordplay?" Ciela exclaimed as Link struggled with the demon.

"That, or Bellum augments his abilities insanely," Link answered through gritted teeth. "But I don't think his powers work quite like that."

"Maybe it's both. 'Cause right now you look like you might be losing," Ciela answered as Bellumbeck overpowered the boy and shoved him back. Link stumbled and almost fell off the edge into the cold sea. He tried to regain his footing as Bellumbeck closed in to finish him.

Link, throwing all safety to the winds, recovered his balance and charged at the monstrosity. At the last second he dived and performed a shaky slide between the beast's legs, quickly springing up and continuing to run. Even as he freed himself from his cornered prison he knew it was in vain; he was trapped on a piece of deck floating in the middle of the Great Sea. The only two boats available, the two that had gotten them out there in the first place, were both destroyed. He had nowhere to run.

He spun and faced Bellumbeck as he once again advanced on him. The monster didn't ever run; he didn't have to, Link couldn't get very far. The boy gritted his teeth and raised the Phantom Sword. There had to be _some_ way to take the knight down.

He ran at his opponent and performed the same overhead strike he had used to defeat Bellum the first time. Before it hit though, Bellumbeck simply swatted the sword away, causing Link to stumble. He recovered and tried a second time, but was again foiled. The hero swung again and again, but it was all for nothing; Bellum was using Linebeck's speed to block everything he tried.

_That sword is so big that I can't hit it away like he keeps doing to me,_ Link thought grimly. He tried hitting Bellumbeck from as many angles as he could, to try and confuse his opponent. To his surprise, it seemed to be working; the knight's counters were becoming slower and sloppier. Before he could regain his edge in the battle, Link performed a high feint and then delivered a powerful stab at the beast's chest.

It hit directly, and Link cheered that he had finally made contact. However, Bellumbeck only laughed before thrusting his chest out, sending Link back a few steps. The boy looked at the armour incredulously: there was no damage on the armour to be seen. There wasn't so much as a scratch.

Bellumbeck raised his sword over his helmeted head, and Link cried out in shock, "Oh, sweet shit!" The demon brought it down with immense strength, and the hero had no choice but to block it directly. He raised his sword horizontally and took the hit dead-on. Link cried out in pain as his knees buckled slightly; he had never felt so much weight pushing on him. It seemed impossible that a human, even strengthened with magical power, could be _this_ strong.

Link bit his lip hard as Bellumbeck attempted to overpower him. Link moved his other hand to rest on the blade to balance the two sides before he was cut in half. Bellumbeck increased his pressure, and Link hissed in pain as his blade began cutting into his palm. Seeing his own blood begin to trickle down his arm, he knew that he had to act fast or else he was dead.

He struggled to move, but found that he couldn't. Bellumbeck had too much weight on him, and Link couldn't get out of the way without being sliced in two. His sword cut deeper into his hand, and he cried out. Either way, it looked like he was going to lose this one.

Before anyone could blink though, Ciela rammed into the back of Bellumbeck's helmet, momentarily stunning the monster. Link took his chance and shoved his opponent's sword back up and away from him, then followed it up with a kick to his chest. This proved to be a bad idea as his foot suddenly lit with pain; the phantom was as sturdy as a ship. Nevertheless, Link quickly ran around him and put a bit of distance between them.

"Okay, _that _was a bad idea," Ciela said as she flew dizzily through the air. "That was like hitting a wall!"

"Still, it worked. I thought I was going to die right there," Link replied, panting from the tension he was feeling. Looking back at his opponent, he growled in frustration as he saw that he was again heading for him. "Damn, he doesn't stop! He's going to wear me out at this rate!"

Bellumbeck raised his sword once more, and delivered a strong cut. Link jumped to the side to avoid it and countered quickly. However, the monster again parried his attack and retaliated with his own. Link raised his shield to block it and shoved the weapon aside. He jumped and brought a hit down on top of the knight's helmet, but this too did nothing. Link swallowed as Bellumbeck aimed a massive swing at his side, and quickly fell flat to the ground to avoid being cut at the waist.

Bellumbeck followed it up with a stab aimed at the boy, but Link rolled out of the way and jumped back to his feet. The demon quickly advanced with a series of slashes, which the hero had no choice but to intercept. They seemed to be at a stalemate for the time being, but Link knew that it was short-lived; the possessed captain had every advantage right now.

"Neri, how's Jolene?" Link shouted over his shoulder as his fight continued.

"I don't know, I don't know!" Neri wailed. "She swallowed a lot of water, but she's breathing right now! They're really short breaths though, I totally think it's bad! But I can't help her if I don't know what's wrong!"

"Leaf! Tetra?"

"I dunno dude, she's still unconscious!" Leaf yelled back. "I'm worried though, she's been out for like an hour now, since Bellum took her!"

Link gritted his teeth in frustration. Two of his friends were in trouble and he couldn't help them, because a third friend was under possession and trying to kill him. Where was that enthusiasm he'd had two hours ago now?

He simply shook his head and kept his focus on his opponent, who was relentlessly attacking. They battled for what seemed like hours, though in actuality amounted to about half of one. The clash of steel on steel rang out and echoed in all directions as they countered each other again and again. Link was sweating and breathing heavily as he tried to keep up with the assault. He wasn't going to last too much longer now, he was exhausted. After his fight with Bellum alone in the chamber, and then again when the squid took over the Ghost Ship, he had used up almost all of his strength. He had never had to go this long without rest before, and it was beginning to take its toll on his body.

He had never fought an opponent like this one. Jolene was very quick and agile, which made her unpredictable as she constantly flipped and cartwheeled around. Bellumbeck, however, had raw strength, and utilized it to its fullest as he simply kept attacking in an attempt to mow Link over. Even Ganondorf didn't compare to this! Sure, the King of Evil was a challenge with two swords, which meant that twice as many strikes could come from any direction; as well, he could fly, which was a tactic he often used to drop from the sky with an overhead chop. But even he wasn't as strong as the opponent Link duelled now. He wasn't covered in armour, making it impossible to get a strike on him; he had a vulnerability to Light Arrows, which they didn't have now.

"What _is_ Bellum weak to?" Link pondered as he struggled to keep up with Bellumbeck's attacks. _Wait a minute!_ How could he have been so stupid, to have forgotten already? Bellum was latched onto Linebeck's back! He wasn't covered in the armour, which meant that he was still vulnerable!

This, however, brought a second problem to Link's mind. He hadn't seen Bellum once since the fight began; as he thought about it, Bellumbeck had _never_ kept Link anywhere but in front of him. It was a probable guess that he did this to keep himself protected, but was it even possible to get behind him?

Link pushed away from Bellumbeck's sword and quickly ran in a large circle. To his dread however, his opponent simply turned with him as he continued to walk towards him. Link gritted his teeth; if only there were some way to stop him in his tracks. Link then blinked as he remembered another crucial bit of information.

"Son of a- Ciela!" he yelled as Bellumbeck drew ever closer. "I need a Phantom Sphere!"

"What? Why?" the fairy called back from across the platform. Link ducked as the demon swung at him again and yelled, "Just make one!"

The fairy didn't reply and began forming a ball of light. Link quickly ran for her as she finished and launched it at him. He collected it into the sword's crystal and turned to face Bellumbeck. "See how you like being frozen," he muttered as he activated the sphere.

Time again blinked to black and white as Link ran around the monster and finally saw his back. There Bellum was, latched firmly around the armour; however, his eye was tightly shut, and none of Link's hits did anything.

"I have an idea!" Ciela shouted before time unfroze. Link blinked and spun to face her.

"Wait a minute, you don't freeze when that happens?"

"I'm the Spirit of Time! I _make_ the Phantom Spheres! Why _would_ I freeze?"

"…Touché. Anyway, idea?"

"I'll fly around behind him and watch Bellum's eye. When it opens I'll make a sphere and give it to you."

"And then I'll halt time and attack him!" Link finished. "Alright, let's do it!"

Ciela flew around behind Bellumbeck, who was again advancing on Link. The boy tightened his grip on the Phantom Sword and met him head-on, resuming their fight. After a couple minutes of parrying each other, Ciela yelled, "It's open!" and began creating a sphere.

Link leaped away from the knight and waited as the ball finished before flying towards the sword. Link absorbed it and waited until Bellumbeck was closer to him before triggering it. Time froze and Link ran around to Bellum where his eye was finally open, and began attacking. Quicker than he would have liked though, the ten seconds were up and Bellumbeck was thrown back as time resumed. He kept his balance as he came to a halt, and roared at the hero in pain.

"Yes! It worked!" Link cheered as Ciela bounced in happiness. Suddenly, Bellumbeck began rotating his body, picking up more and more speed. Link squinted at the monster before his eyes widened with disbelief. Bellumbeck quickly became a tornado from rotating so fast and headed for Link, his sword cutting the air itself with a thin whip of noise.

Link couldn't believe what he was seeing. He knew the technique but had never actually seen anyone else perform it before. Back on his home of Outset Island, the fighting master, Orca, had once taught him the legendary procedure, known as the Hurricane Spin. It was a dangerous technique that involved spinning fast enough that your sword would create the weight to keep you rotating; the trick to it was to balance lithely on one foot like a top. Pulled off successfully, it was a very formidable move; if you failed, there was the chance you'd take your own head off. For that reason, no one ever learned it. However, Link had managed to master it and had used it multiple times in a pinch.

It was the very same technique that Bellumbeck was using now to launch himself at Link: a giant whirlwind of destruction. Link studied the rotation of the blade as it drew nearer. "If I did the same and rotated in the same direction, there's the slightest chance our blades would meet and cancel each other's momentum! But _can_ I do it?"

Link swallowed nervously. It had been months since the last time he'd used it, and wasn't sure if he could anymore. Even so, Bellumbeck was nearly upon him, and he had no other choice. Spinning as fast as he could, Link lifted his sword and allowed the weight of the blade to carry his momentum. Slowly, he lifted one foot and rested it on his other ankle as he picked himself up onto his toes. His speed increased dramatically while he kept his balance, and he smiled. "I did it!" he cried as he angled his weight slightly forward. He began moving towards Bellumbeck and hesitated as they drew nearer. He held his breath and lifted his sword slightly so that it was level with the knight's.

With a loud clash, the swords met and both of them immediately stopped. For a split second Link was ecstatic that his theory had worked; it was then he noticed that he had now locked blades with Bellumbeck, who was trying to overcome him. Link began to push back against the weapon, but knew that it was useless. Bellumbeck wasn't even exerting much effort, simply enough to hold Link back as the latter tried his hardest.

With a sick laugh Bellumbeck easily overpowered Link, and the boy's knees immediately buckled as he shoved him right to the deck. The hero fell on his back and hit his head hard as he tried to move. However, he saw the knight tower above him and knew he was trapped. Bellumbeck placed an armoured boot on the boy's shield and laughed again as he raised his sword over his head.

"_Ciela_!"

"I know!"

"Hurry up and make a Phantom Sphere!" the boy yelled frantically as Bellumbeck prepared his attack.

"I'm trying!" Ciela cried, a considerable distance away. "Link, it won't get to you in time!"

"Shoot it!" Link screamed. He tried to wrestle his arm free, but his shield was held tightly by the phantom. He had no way of blocking the strike.

Ciela released a Phantom Sphere and it slowly began its journey for the Phantom Sword. Link gritted his teeth and willed it to approach faster as Bellumbeck resumed his laughing. Link's eyes flickered between the demon's weapon and his lifeline; he knew there was no way it'd reach him in time. One final idea popped into his head, and he tightened his grip on his blade.

He threw the Phantom Sword as hard as he could right as Bellumbeck brought the weapon down. Link curled into a ball, eyes closed, and yelled in fear as he waited for his death. However, instead of pain he heard a small 'pop', and his eyes shot open.

The first thing he saw was Bellumbeck's wicked sword about half a metre from his face. He quickly scrambled out from under it, leaving his shield under his foe's foot. Tears streamed down his face as he shook violently with terror. Glancing around, he saw Ciela hovering, speechless, as well as the Phantom Sword, frozen in midair where it had connected with the Phantom Sphere.

"Holy shit, holy shit…" he whispered as he slowly grabbed the weapon. He had literally been centimetres from death; he had never been closer to losing his life before. He tried to calm himself down, to convince himself that he was still alive. Behind him he heard a massive crash, and spun around to see Bellumbeck's sword plunge deeply into the deck as time returned.

He continued to shake as he realized that his head was there only a moment before, and wiped his tears away. Ciela fluttered over to him, shaking as well. Without a word he nodded his thanks, and she simply nodded back. Bellumbeck spun around in anger and kicked Link's shield to the side. The boy walked over to retrieve it, and once he had turned to look at Ciela.

"Phantom Sphere, please. It's time we finally ended this."


	29. Journey's End

_Oh my God guys, this is it!_

_**Chapter 29: Journey's End**_

Ciela created a Phantom Sphere and passed it to Link before flying around Bellumbeck to watch the phantom. The hero simply stood his ground and waited as the knight stomped angrily across the deck towards him. The monster roared again before suddenly charging at Link, whose eyes widened in mild surprise. Before he was hit though, he heard Ciela signal him and activated the Phantom Sword.

Bellumbeck was stuck in mid-run as Link darted around behind him. He glared at the evil eye that appeared to be staring back before laying into him as much as he could. The ten seconds again blinked by as Bellumbeck was again thrown backwards, struggling to keep his balance.

"Keep it up! He's almost done!" Ciela called. Bellum's eye quickly snapped open and looked up at the fairy hovering above him. With a quick whip of his tentacle, he grabbed Ciela and held her behind the giant helmet that encased Linebeck. The fairy struggled to release herself but found that she was stuck tight.

"Link, he's got me! I can't move!" she cried. Link exhaled, beyond frustrated. They were so close, and now this?

"Quick, this is your chance!" he heard her yell, and he blinked in confusion. "His focus is going to be split now! He has to keep a tight enough hold on me that I can't create a Phantom Sphere, but that means his concentration on Linebeck will be weakened! Attack him now!"

Link nodded and ran at the fused being. He raised his sword and began his assault on his foe, seeing immediate results. Ciela was right; with his attention split, Bellum could only do so much to assist Linebeck. The knight's movements weren't near as fast as they had been, which drastically evened the odds. Link smiled grimly and continued striking. The phantom was still blocking every strike; however, Link could now formulate a strategy to overwhelm him since he wasn't impossibly swift.

Bellumbeck suddenly jumped to the side and delivered a quick swing. Link raised his shield and blocked it before running in close and hitting the demon in the chest. To his shock, the hit actually stunned Bellumbeck as he took a step backwards. Link followed it up with another strike, which had the same result; Bellumbeck staggered away and tried to regain his balance. Seeing his chance, Link charged him and raised his sword over his head.

Bellumbeck saw the manoeuvre and angled his blade sideways to intercept it. Link came in fast and hammered his sword against his foe's; they clashed together loudly and the two of them were again locked in a stalemate.

The hero quickly felt that Bellumbeck's strength was fading as well as his speed. Struggling, he pushed as hard as he could and felt the phantom beginning to draw back. With a final shove, Link overpowered his opponent and watched as he almost fell onto his back. Seeing his chance, Link jumped into the air and delivered a powerful cut along the neck of the helmet. Bellumbeck roared as he fell to his knees. Link noticed a fluttering behind the helmet and heard Ciela shout, "Hey, his grip's loosening!"

"Can you make a Phantom Sphere?" Link called, to which the fairy replied, "Already on it!" Within moments, a ball of light erupted from behind the helmet and floated over to Link, who eagerly absorbed it. Bellumbeck struggled to get back on his feet, and Link retreated as the knight slashed wildly at him.

Link tightened his grip on the Phantom Sword and glanced at the glowing hourglass crystal. "Nothing to do now but wait," he muttered, and looked back at the phantom. Bellumbeck was back on his feet and roaring in frustration as Bellum screeched loudly. Link raised his sword to meet his opponent as he slowly walked forward. Bellumbeck saw this and raised his own weapon before charging at the hero.

The demon delivered a vicious swing at the boy's knees, but Link quickly jumped and swung at the armoured shoulder that was now exposed. Amazingly, Bellumbeck blocked it and batted Link's sword down to the deck. He then shoulder-checked the hero and attempted to cut him as he was stunned. Link took the hit but managed to fall backwards and avoid the blade as it sliced the air mere centimetres above his nose. Link rolled backwards onto his feet and attacked his foe head-on; their blades met again and again as they fought to push the other back.

Bellumbeck jumped back and threw forth a sickeningly strong stab; Link raised his shield and it crunched under the impact. Link quickly retreated and glanced down at his safeguard and gasped when he saw the small cracks that stemmed from the point of contact. Link bit his lip as he glanced at the knight that stood facing him; he wasn't sure if it would survive another hit that strong. Making his decision, he strapped his shield onto his back and advanced on the possessed captain with only a blade for protection; it was now or never.

Bellumbeck roared and stabbed at him again. This time though, Link sidestepped it and kept advancing. Bellum screeched in confusion as the sword again swung forward. However, Link simply hopped to the side and flinched slightly as the weapon struck the deck. Bellumbeck roared in anger before raising his mighty blade over his head, with Bellum yelling in rage. Link simply looked up at the sword and remained expressionless. If he waited a little longer, it would happen.

Bellum shrieked in victory as he mentally commanded the captain to bring the sword down through the boy's skull. Bellumbeck roared one final time before his arm began to move. Link glared at the carved eyes and held his breath. _Almost…_

"Link, now!" Ciela screamed, and Link's wrist flicked slightly. The Phantom Sword triggered the sphere and time halted as the world again flashed black and white. Link glanced up at the blade that was half a foot from his face and had a brief flashback to a similar scenario ten minutes prior. This time however, it wasn't him who was going to die.

Link walked around the figure stuck in mid-swing and took a look at the phantom, whose eye was wide open as he had looked around frantically. Link raised his sword to the pupil and glared as hard as he could, knowing that his foe would never see it. "Fuck with my friends, will you? Burn in hell, you bastard," he hissed before burying the Phantom Sword to the hilt into the eye.

At that moment, time unfroze and Bellum screamed in agony. A powerful force expelled the sword from the squid, and Link was thrown backwards. Bellumbeck struggled to move before simply falling face-first onto the deck. Ciela quickly escaped from the phantom's grip as the dark knight was engulfed in a flash of purple light.

When it cleared, Linebeck was face-down on the deck as Bellum rose into the air slowly, twitching and screaming. He let loose one final yell as he quickly hardened and his colour drained, before another violent explosion obscured him from view. When the smoke cleared, Bellum was gone; a mountain of sand hovered in his place.

Link slowly stood up and grabbed the Phantom Sword. As he approached the pile, he simply looked at it for a moment, watching the grains swirl around as they danced in the air. Hearing a faint moan, he turned to find the source as Ciela approached him. He saw Tetra holding her head before slowly standing up, glancing around. Upon seeing Link, she smiled before waving at him while Leaf bounced around happily.

Link then turned to find Jolene; the woman was also awake and appeared to be fine. She stood up and flashed a thumbs-up at the boy before diving into the water and heading over to the deck. Neri was flying around excitedly before heading over to Leaf. Link smiled, glad that his friends were alright. He raised the Phantom Sword to the sand a final time as the sand suddenly froze in place before being drawn into the hourglass crystal. As it did, the storm immediately cleared and the winds died down, displaying a bright sunny sky once more.

Tetra swam across the water as well before arriving at the deck. Dripping wet, she made her way over to Link as she shook water from her hair. Link smiled at her and sheathed his sword while Ciela flew over to join the other two spirits.

"Are we ever going to lead normal lives?" Tetra asked as she embraced the hero. Link grinned. "At this point, probably not."

Jolene ran over to help Linebeck, who was struggling to stand. As she draped his arm around her shoulders, he rubbed his face as he tried to wake up. "Ugh… What happened? Last I remember I-" His eyes suddenly shot open as he turned around to face Link.

"Oh, kid! I mean, Link! I'm sorry, I didn't want to attack you, I didn't have any control over by body!" he exclaimed with a worried look. Link simply smiled and waved his hand.

"It's cool, I know. Why're you calling me Link now though? What changed?"

Linebeck shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it slipped out in the heat of the moment. But it IS your name, I might as well use it at least once before our journey ends."

As Jolene slowly helped him over to the kids, he looked around and added, "Our journey _is_ ending, right? I don't see Squiddy anywhere."

Link nodded happily. "Yeah, it's over. We finally got rid of him for good." The captain snorted.

"'We'? No kid, it was all you. You had to take on Bellum alone."

"No I didn't," the boy countered. "You helped out by steering us after the Ghost Ship, and Ciela helped by making Phantom Spheres. We all did it, I would've literally died if I had done it alone."

The captain shrugged as he leaned on Jolene. "Man, I feel tired. I tell ya though, that spiky thing of his really hurt," he added as he massaged his back. "Felt like a needle the size of cucco."

"Oh, you baby, I'm sure it's fine," Jolene replied, rolling her eyes. She leaned behind the captain and lifted his coat to examine him, only to pale at the sight of the giant hole in his back.

"What?" the captain inquired as she came back up, still white. "Nothing! Just a scratch, a bandage will heal that right up!" she replied quickly. Linebeck simply shrugged again.

"By the way, I guess I should thank you," Link said to the man. "If you hadn't stood up to Bellum, he probably would've killed us." Jolene quickly looked Linebeck.

"You did WHAT?" she asked incredulously. Linebeck scratched his head nervously. "I maybe took on Bellum alone while everyone else was down." Jolene stared at him in shock.

"What! I can't do a brave thing?" he asked, annoyed. Jolene shook her head in disbelief. "Sure you can, you just never have before," she replied with a snicker. Linebeck rolled his eyes. "So now what happens?"

Everyone shrugged as the spirits flew over to join them. "I would say we could get out of here, but my ship took a bit of… damage," Linebeck said, before quickly covering his mouth and glancing at Ciela. The fairy's wings drooped slightly as she began to shake. "Grandpa…"

Suddenly, a loud call rang across the sky. Everyone looked around, unsure of where it had come from, before it sounded again. All of them slowly huddled closer together as it continued to echo around them. Without warning, Link's back began to resonate and release a large amount of lightning, giving off a bright light.

"The Phantom Sword!" Link cried as it released a giant beam of light into the sky. It quickly expelled a flash of golden light, and grains of sparkling sand began to rain down into the sea.

Out of nowhere, the deck began to shake as everybody struggled to keep their balance. "Earthquake!" Link shouted, before Ciela slapped him. "We're in the middle of the ocean, idiot!"

Without warning, the water at the edge of the platform blasted apart, and a huge white whale launched into the air. It fell back into the water with a mighty splash that sent a giant wave across the deck. Link struggled to keep his balance as Linebeck went sliding past him, splashing around wildly. Despite their best efforts, everyone was quickly soaked. The whale suddenly resurfaced and swam over beside them. Link and Linebeck both screamed like girls while the two women glanced at each other.

"I'm so glad the fate of the Great Sea was entrusted to them," Jolene muttered, while Tetra nodded in agreement.

"SHUT UP!" the whale yelled in a booming voice, and the men immediately ceased their screaming. "Honestly… It's me, you morons!"

Link slowly approached the whale. "…Osh?" he said finally, before he was backhanded by the Ocean King's tail. "Yep," Link said faintly as Tetra helped him up.

"What the hell? Old man, is that you? THAT'S your true form?" Linebeck asked with a snicker as the spirits raced to greet their master. "You're a friggin' whale?"

"A white whale, thank you," the Ocean King replied. "Yes, I have finally returned to my true form. For that, Link, Linebeck, and Ciela… I thank you.

"If not for you, I would've remained trapped forever. This sea would've fallen into desolation and evil. You saved me and the Great Sea. Thank you."

Jolene smiled and pulled Linebeck into a side hug. Tetra gave Link a wink as he grinned, before asking, "What's up with the dialogue? It sounds really formal."

"Oh, I was reading from this storyline that Ciela just gave me," the Ocean King replied. "It's pretty good stuff." Link simply facepalmed as Linebeck laughed while crossing his arms.

The Ocean King dived back under the water before resurfacing. "Now then. Linebeck…" The captain looked around in confusion. "Wait, what? Me?"

The whale nodded. "I have to make good on a promise I made to you. I believe I owe you one wish?"

Linebeck slowly uncrossed his arms in mild surprise. "That's right, I have a wish…" he said softly. With a chuckle he added, "I'd actually forgotten that's why I was even here in the first place!"

"And that shows how much you have grown," the Ocean King told him with a smile. "Now then, what shall it be?"

"That's a tough one," Ciela answered with a smirk. "Would it happen to be treasure? That same treasure you've been talking about since we first started everything?"

"No! That's not it at all!" Linebeck said defensively, turning away. "After adventuring around with you guys, I've actually learned something…" He trailed off and glanced at the faces staring at him. Tetra, Link, Neri, Ciela, Leaf, the Ocean King. His eyes came to rest on Jolene and he smiled. "I learned that there are more important things than treasure," he said finally, gesturing to everyone. Jolene's eyes widened and she hugged the man again.

"I guess if I _have_ to make a wish though… Well… Can you maybe bring back my ship? The one that sank?" he asked finally, looking at the whale. "I've been through a lot with her, I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."

The Ocean King smiled again and nodded. "Then you shall not. I will raise the _S.S. Linebeck_ from the ocean floor and restore it perfectly."

Linebeck let a smile rise to his lips as he heard those words. How far he had come since he had met a young boy with a suicide mission for a goal. All he had cared about then was finding treasure and becoming rich. Here, now, weeks later, he just passed up the free chance to become richer than he could ever dream of. And, as he looked at Jolene again, he realized that, for the first time in his life, he was truly happy.

The Ocean King looked up at the sky. "The Sand of Hours is returned and peace reigns," he said, glancing at the storyline again. "The Ghost Ship will no longer haunt your world."

Everyone blinked in surprise at hearing this. They all glanced at each other in confusion before Tetra asked, "Wait, 'our' world?" She looked around at the sea surrounding them and added, "What is the world we're in now then? Where _are_ we?"

The Ocean King chuckled as a thick white fog began settling in around them. Link looked around and realized that apart from his friends, he couldn't see anything; not the sky, not the ocean, not the wreckage of the Ghost Ship.

"The time for you all to return to your world is near," the Ocean King said softly. "You must return to where you belong."

"The door to your world is about to open, dudes," Leaf added. "Can't miss that."

"We're inhabitants of this world. We totally belong here, so this is where we part," Neri explained. Everyone looked at each other, thoroughly confused.

"Hey, I just thought of something," Jolene said, turning to Linebeck. "Remember that really thick fog that we sailed through months ago?"

Linebeck nodded slowly as the Ocean King replied, "That fog was a creation of the Ghost Ship to lure you to this world. Without knowing, you crossed dimensions to wind up here."

Jolene punched Linebeck's arm lightly. "Told you it was a weird fog," she said while Linebeck rolled his eyes. "Fine, you were right for once, shut up."

Tetra sighed. "That sucks, because this place is pretty populated. I thought it would make a pretty nice location for the new Hyrule. Whenever we found my crew, anyway."

"New Hyrule?" Linebeck asked, confused. Link nodded.

"Tetra's a descendant of royalty from an ancient kingdom," he explained. "We're looking for a new land to rebuild and create a new kingdom."

Linebeck and Jolene glanced at each other. "It just so happens that we might be able to help," the captain replied. Link and Tetra shared a look of confusion.

"Once, a very long time ago, Linebeck and I came across this huge continent while exploring the sea. It was unpopulated, but quite rich in nature. It sounds like it may be what you're looking for."

"Yes, it sounds perfect!" Tetra exclaimed. "Where was it?"

"North," Linebeck answered. "Just head north and you'll run into it. It's impossible to miss."

Tetra looked at Link excitedly. "That's it! I think we found our new land! As soon as we find my crew, we're heading north to check it out." Link nodded in agreement.

"I guess at some point we'll have to stop by and help out in the creation of this new kingdom," Jolene added to Linebeck. Glancing at Tetra, she grinned and added, "Besides, I wouldn't mind some girl time with another pirate chick."

"Oh _hell_ yeah, I get a girl to talk to about boys and pillaging!" Tetra replied, eyes lighting up. Link and Linebeck simply looked at each other, shrugging.

The Ocean King cleared his throat. "Not to interrupt your planning, but you really must get a move on. The door to your world won't stay open forever, so hurry up with your goodbyes already."

Everyone looked around, suddenly gloomy. "I guess this is it then," Link said, glancing at the spirits and the Ocean King. "If this is your world, we probably won't see you ever again."

"Maybe it's for the best," Ciela replied. "That way I won't ever have to see Linebeck's ugly mug again."

Linebeck rolled his eyes. "Cute, Sparkles. At least my ears won't bleed anymore from your constant chatting," he retaliated before crossing his arms and turning away.

Ciela giggled a bit and began to float away. "Well, it's actually been sort of fun…" She moved further. "…Bye Linebeck."

The captain turned around and gave a small smile. "Later, Ciela." The fairy spun to face him and lit up at the sound of her name, before smiling and fluttering over to Link.

"Well, it's been real dudes," Leaf said to them. "Thanks for your help, Link and Linebeck. Oh, and dude?" he added, glancing at Link. "Please destroy that pocket."

"Yeah, yeah, it causes insanity like no other!" Neri added as she snuggled up to Leaf. "Although the time together _was_ nice."

Everyone stared at them before Ciela piped up. "Oh, yeah, back when the three of us were talking, we decided that since we're the only fairies in this world, and since you guys all hooked up-" she gestured to Link, Tetra, Jolene and Linebeck, "-that we'd go into a three-way relationship!"

Link blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry, a…?"

"Just trust us, it'll work!" Neri giggled. "Anyway, thanks for your help you two!" She and Leaf flew over to join the Ocean King.

"Okay, this is getting too weird," Linebeck muttered as he tried to understand the concept of a three-way relationship.

Ciela fluttered down to face Link. "I guess this is goodbye," she said, before hitting him on the head. When Link cried out and looked at her expectantly, she shrugged. "Guess I just wanted one more."

The fog began to thicken around them, and soon Link could see only the fairy fluttering in front of him. "To think that when we first met, I was throwing rocks at you. I hurt you even before I knew you were an idiot!" Ciela said with a laugh. "Even so, I wouldn't mind sticking around with you Link. This adventure's been the most fun, challenging, and enraging thing I've ever done."

Link chuckled and nodded. "It _was_ fun while it lasted," he said, gazing sadly at the fairy. "I can't believe that I'm actually going to miss you!"

"I know, right?" the fairy answered. "But now it's time to say goodbye. And speaking of which, it's about time for us to leave…" The fog began to thicken even more as Link drew closer to Ciela. With a hand outstretched he reached to stroke the fairy one last time. Soon everything was so solid that he couldn't see a thing except white. His hand gently brushed against the fairy, and he heard her whisper, "Bye Link…"

And before he could say anything, the fog overtook him.


	30. Back to the Beginning

_**Chapter 30: Back to the Beginning**_

Bright sunlight was overhead. Some seagulls chirped as they flew across the sky, while a few clouds floated by lazily. Link slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was lying on his back.

"Ugh…" he moaned as he tried to sit up. Glancing around, he saw Tetra lying beside him and gently shook her awake. As she opened her eyes he realized something was off. He stood up and took a look at where they were lying, and was immediately confused.

"Wait a minute… We're on the Ghost Ship?" he asked slowly. Tetra looked at him with a puzzled stare before standing up as well. They walked around and saw that they were indeed on the deck of the Ghost Ship.

The hero walked over to the railing and looked down at the water. He noticed that the ship wasn't moving and leaned on the barrier, trying to think. Tetra joined him and looked out at the water around them. "What happened?" she asked finally. Link shook his head, no answer coming to his lips.

_Was it all a dream?_ he pondered quietly while Tetra studied the clouds. _Maybe I DID make it onto the ship, but I hit my head and just had one huge psychotic trip._ He considered this for a moment before nodding. That seemed plausible.

"Where are Jolene and Linebeck?" Tetra asked as she looked across the horizon. "I would've thought that they would appear with us." Link frowned. _Okay, maybe it wasn't a dream._

He then thought of something and looked at his hand. The large cut he had received on his palm was now gone; the throbbing in his wrist was also nowhere to be found. Not to mention that the Ghost Ship he had helped destroy was now sitting perfectly fine in the ocean with them on it. _Or was it a dream?_ This was confusing.

Tetra looked at him and seemed to read his thoughts. "It wasn't a dream," she said flatly. "How could you and I dream the same thing?" Link considered this as well. That _did_ seem unlikely.

"Still though, think about it," he countered. "Linebeck and Jolene are gone, and the Ghost Ship is back? Cuts that I had gotten from Bellum have disappeared? Find one fact that can argue this."

"You told me you liked me," was her reply, and his face fell as he remembered that moment. "Oh yeah. But then what's going on?"

They heard a loud wooden creak come from behind them, as well as a grating voice yell, "Boss!" They quickly spun around to see Tetra's ship pull up beside them as Niko waved wildly. The two of them shared a look before slowly making their way over to it.

"So you two are okay?" Niko asked excitedly as Tetra jumped onto the ship. "We got worried when we heard all the screaming, but you guys seem fine!" He ran around as the girl stretched and examined the boat. "What about the Ghost Ship? How much treasure was on it?"

Tetra's eye twitched as Link could see that he had just hit a nerve. The captain spun and advanced on the pirate, glaring murderously.

"WHAT?" she screamed in his face, shocking Link as he made his jump. He stumbled as his feet left the Ghost Ship and tumbled face-first across the ships. His feet hit the railing of the boat and he plunged facedown onto the deck.

"What are you TALKING about? Treasure? Are you INSANE?" the captain continued. "I almost DIED! _Link_ almost died! Where _were_ you guys? Why didn't you come look for us after we disappeared?"

Gonzo walked up beside Niko as the latter shook with fear. "Miss Tetra, we never left you," the big man said calmly. "The Ghost Ship never left our sights. You disappeared into a patch of fog briefly, but we were always behind you."

Tetra turned to Gonzo and yelled, "That's BULLSHIT! I was a statue! How could you follow us for weeks and not do anything?"

Gonzo began cowering with Niko as Nudge and Senza approached. "Weeks? What're you talking about?" Senza asked, confused. "Did you hit your head or something?"

"I did," Link voiced, raising a hand. Tetra ignored him and yelled, "I'm talking about how I was kidnapped by Bellum, and how Link went through hell and back to rescue me!"

"You must've fallen asleep and dreamed that," Nudge answered with a wave of his hand. "You've only been gone for about ten minutes."

Tetra was about to yell again before she faltered. "Ten… minutes?" she repeated, and Nudge nodded. He pointed to Mako, who was rocking himself back and forth while bawling his eyes out.

"Now I'll never know where the last Horcrux is! Harry, did you do it? What happens to Voldemort?" the spectacled man whimpered while continuing to leak like a waterfall.

"He's been doing that for the last ten minutes, since you tossed his book," Nudge answered. "Do you really think he could do that for weeks?"

Tetra looked at him flatly. "It's Mako."

Nudge and Senza glanced at each other. "Okay, touché, but it was still only ten minutes!" Senza argued, while Tetra shook her head stubbornly.

"No, this is _not_ happening! I am telling you that we were lost in another dimension!"

"Miss Tetra, please listen to yourself!" Gonzo begged. "Do you realize what you sound like right now?"

"I don't care if you all think I'm insane! You WILL believe me!"

Link sighed and walked away from the pirates that continued to argue. Even he was beginning to have his doubts about what had happened. He walked over to the railing and stared out at the water again before finally noticing something large in his pocket. The boy frowned as he reached in to find what it was. _It hasn't been this heavy in a while,_ he thought as he dug around the near-infinite plane for what it could be.

At last his fingers brushed against glass, and Link pulled the object out, confused. The now-empty Phantom Hourglass sat in his hands, reflecting the sun's light brightly. Link stared at it incredulously. Here was indescribable proof that everything had been real; yet how had it gotten into his pocket?

He walked over behind the crew and waved the hourglass around for Tetra to see. The girl finally took notice and stared for a moment, losing her train of thought. "Okay, you know what, we'll just continue this later," she said and dismissed her crew. As they went back to their stations, she quickly ran over to Link.

"What is that?" she asked when she was at his side. Link grinned and handed it to her.

"The one thing I always had with me on my journey," he replied. "The Phantom Hourglass: the proof that we're not crazy. I guess that fog we apparently went into was the same kind of warpy fog that Linebeck and Jolene encountered." He then had another thought and stared at the object in the girl's hands.

"Huh. Guess the Phantom Sword _can_ come apart again. Looks like I owe Zauz ten rupees," he said as he shrugged. "Oh well." While the thought of swords was in his head, he reached for his scabbard and decided to see what was currently on his back.

He drew the sword that Oshus had given him at the start of it all and laughed. Also drawing his shield, he noticed that the cracks that Bellumbeck had caused were gone as well. Link grinned as he deposited the objects into his pocket, deciding that he wouldn't need them anytime soon. "I guess the Ocean King decided to leave us a few gifts when he sent us home. Like healing injuries, repairing objects, and sticking an hourglass down my pants."

Tetra nodded, amused. "So what should we do about the Ghost Ship?" she asked as she glanced back at the boat that was now far behind them. That is until she gasped.

"Leave it, I guess," the hero replied with a shrug. "Tetra?" He turned to face her only to notice what she had moments ago. "The ship is… gone?"

They heard Niko shriek loudly at this and run below deck, clutching Gonzo's ankles while screaming that it was going to kill them all invisibly. Link shook his head while Tetra sighed.

"The Ocean King said that it wouldn't bother us anymore," Tetra spoke. "It's probably gone for good. And good riddance." Link nodded in agreement and looked around.

"So… What should we do now?"

"I know something I've wanted to do for a while now," Tetra said mischievously, and drew closer to him. Without warning she gave him a quick kiss, and pulled away before Link could even blink.

"Okay, that's fair," the boy said with a grin. Before he could get another though, Tetra smirked and walked away. "Aww, but I want another one!"

"Hey, as long as nothing stupid happens to one of us and we disappear again, we'll have a _lot_ of time to later," she answered with a wink. Her attention was caught by someone calling, "Miss Tetra!"

She looked up to see Zuko in the crow's nest. "Ship off the port side," he called softly. "Doesn't look like a threat, just thought you should know."

Tetra turned in the direction Zuko gestured to as Link followed her gaze. They both saw with a smile that it was none other than the _S.S. Linebeck_, restored and sailing off towards the horizon. As they raced to the railing and watched, it angled to face them as two figures appeared on the deck. The kids laughed and waved at Linebeck and Jolene, who were holding each other.

The couple waved back before Jolene pointed north. Tetra nodded in understanding before yelling, "Thank you!"

"You'll see us soon!" they heard the man yell back, and the figures disappeared from view. With that, the _S.S. Linebeck_ resumed its course and slowly faded away into the distance as the breeze followed it.

Tetra smiled. "They're great together," she commented. "I can't wait to see them again."

Link nodded. "Yeah, I have a feeling he's going to become an awesome captain."

Tetra grinned in agreement. Turning around, she shouted to her crew to angle the ship north to head to their new destination. As they complied, she slipped her hand into Link's and said, "Y'know, I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Link's eyes lit up. "Oh, Din, yes! I feel like I haven't eaten in weeks!"

"I actually HAVEN'T eaten in weeks!"

"Psh, you were stoned, that's not my fault."

"Shut up. Let's go get some food."

Hand in hand, they wandered down below deck while continuing their argument. Gonzo watched them go while at the wheel and shook his head. "Damn, that must have been one hell of a dream."

With that, he spun the wheel and guided the ship north to what Tetra claimed was their new home. Down below, with the Phantom Hourglass on the table between them, the two kids argued and laughed as they fantasized about what their future held in the new land. Deciding to wait until they saw it, they simply sat and ate, finally content, as the ship slowly sailed off towards the horizon and their new future.

**~ The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - END ~**

* * *

_Oh my God, that was heartbreaking to write. I can't believe it's actually over… After three and a half long years, I've finally completed Phantom Hourglass! Thank you all SO much for sticking by it throughout everything, you have no idea how happy it makes me! I love you all so much for reading and enjoying my first fic, and I hope you continue to enjoy it years from now!_

_If you really want to feel the mood that's set, find the music online and play it during the appropriate events starting in chapter 26 with Bellum's fight. Nothing like a little mood-setter, I tell you. As for this story, the final pages have been turned. God, I think I might cry now… I wasn't sure I'd ever see this day. Thanks for reading all the way to the end; drop a review and tell me what you thought! If you do, I'll love you till the end of time._

_Thanks again for following Link's epic journey of stupidity, and I'll see you next time!_

_-BTM707_


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